


Distance

by dianesmalone



Category: Cheers
Genre: Angst, Completed, F/M, Slow Burn, hehe, it’s worth it I promise, there will be fluff ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-09-07 04:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 37,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20303299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianesmalone/pseuds/dianesmalone
Summary: After their happy happy marriage hit the rocks, Sam and Diane have separated but they're still madly in love with each other. Will it be enough to bring them back together?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! so I usually only do notes at the end but I have a lot to say so I’ll say a few things here before you read. First, I hope you enjoy this. Second, this is my first fic I’ve ever published so be kind to me heh. Third, thank you to my friend mayee who helped with the description and title. Finally, this fic is my main focus for now and I hope to update it as often as possible. I will continue my one shots after this fic is finished. Okay enjoy!

_Tears streak down the blonde’s face, heart aching terribly. She couldn’t handle this. Everything kept going wrong between the two of them and she had hit her breaking point._

_ “C’mon... sweetheart don’t cry. It’s going to be okay” Sam tries to assure. The tears wouldn’t stop though even as he moved forward and tried to put his arms around her. He wanted to comfort her but she wasn’t going to allow it. _

_ No. No she was not going to let him pretend like nothing was wrong. Like the tension between them hasn’t been building up for longer than they realized. They couldn’t just go back to normal. His hugs and any of his kisses, as much as she still craved them, would not fix this.  _

_ “No” she retorts and pushes him away. Diane wipes away her tears but they keep coming. She was holding back on sobbing, there was no way that was happening in front of him.  _

_ “Diane please don’t do this, don’t push me away. We can fix this” Sam attempts to assure again.  _

_ Now his eyes were beginning to prick with tears. None of this was easy.  _

_ Silence comes from her for a moment. Their relationship wasn’t that simple. They couldn’t fix their issues with any one solution. It would take lots of hard work and she knew Sam wasn’t going to be able to do that. If he was, they wouldn’t be here. _

_ “We can’t fix this. I can’t keep doing this Sam. I want a divorce” Diane finally says, breaking the silence.  _

_ That doesn’t last long. The silence returns once again as those words leave her lips. Sam could feel a knife stab right through his heart, shattering it into millions of pieces.  _

_ “Diane...” he begins. He tries to continue but he’s unable to form any words. Instead tears just flow down his cheeks. Sam wasn’t one to cry often but when he did, he usually had good reason. _

_ She looks up from the spot on the ground she had been staring at and shakes her head, “don’t.” There wasn’t anything he could say, anything he could do to change her mind. _

_ After what was probably months of feeling like their relationship was not on the right track, she couldn’t do it anymore. He wasn’t willing to put in the work to save their relationship. Diane felt as if she was always the one doing it. No more. This wasn’t a one sided relationship.  _

_ “We’ll make it simple and easy. I’ll give you time to get a new place and you can see the kids every few days. We can trade holidays and birthdays.” _

_ Sam looks at her for a moment, he was in disbelief of how serious she was. He wasn’t expecting this to come crumbling down around him so fast. God how could he have screwed up so bad? _

_ “I’m sorry... I really am” he says. Though he knew deep down that sorry wasn’t enough. Perhaps he wasn’t quite ready for that, Sam had some growing to do that he didn’t even know about. _

_ Diane did too. She wasn’t perfect. Sometimes she would be the cause of their fights. There were faults of her own she wasn’t quite ready to own up to. _

_ She sighs in return. Of course she wanted to say she forgave him but in truth, she didn’t. She wasn’t ready for that yet. Diane wasn’t sure when she would be, if ever. “Just know that I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. In fact, I love you so much. I really do but, I have to do what’s best for us... and what’s best for me.” _

_ The tears were still streaming down her face. Her heart was broken. Never did she think the day would come where she would let go of her world, her everything. Diane once believed they would be together forever. Perhaps forever just isn’t forever after all. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ _

⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ———— ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀

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Diane sighs while she drives toward Sam’s house. The day was long and stressful for her. All she wanted to do was get her children and spend the rest of the night with them. 

It had been two years since she and Sam separated. They never went forward with an actual divorce. At first it was what Diane wanted but when she tried to get the divorce papers, she couldn’t. Actually going through with a divorce hurt more than she thought it would. 

Sam wasn’t able to do it either so that left them being separated. Still married, but no longer together. Diane had given Sam full permission to see other women even though it killed her. She hadn’t actually seen him with another woman but she couldn’t bear the idea of it.

They didn’t speak much anymore. If it wasn’t about their kids, then there was barley conversation. Sometimes they’d joke around with one another and make small talk but that was it. It wasn’t how it used to be with them. 

That being said, they still saw each other frequently. Every few days Diane came by with the kids and would pick them up again after at least a couple of days. It was so that they had enough time with him. It seemed to be a system that worked, which was good for them. They wouldn’t have to go to court to get shared custody or anything of the sort.

If Diane was honest, she missed him. A lot. She was still in love with him and that made their separation even more difficult. Unfortunately it wasn’t as simple as just getting back together. 

At the end of their relationship, she was incredibly unhappy. They would fight almost everyday and when they didn’t fight, they wouldn’t talk about it. Nothing was ever resolved and the tension built up over a long period of time. They didn’t see each other often either, both of their careers and their children took up most of their time. If they did spend time together it was usually just sex. 

Of course their sex was always phenomenal but it wasn’t how she wanted to spend their time together all the time. Besides, toward the end, they had lost the passion they once had. In truth, she missed the domestic moments. The cuddling, the forehead and cheek kisses, holding hands while they walked or sat together, teasing each other, and so much more. What she would do to get back to that.  ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ———— ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

As soon as Sam hears knocking at his front door, he knows it’s Diane. The kids were playing just down the hall in their toy room that he had set up for them. He had a baby camera in there to keep an eye on them.

Elizabeth was six and Ernie was four. They would go on their own adventures when they weren’t spending time with him. Sam didn’t mind, he was happy that they were happy. 

“Elizabeth, Ernie! Mommy is here!” he calls out as he approaches the door. 

Sam opens it to a distressed Diane on the other side. He could tell she looked as if her day hadn’t gone so well. His immediate response was to comfort her and ask if all was alright. That being said, he hesitates at first because he knew it wasn’t his place. 

“Hi” she lets out a long sigh.

“Hi Diane. Please, come in. The kids will be out in just a moment” he insists. 

She nods and takes a few steps into his home, letting him close the door behind her. Diane plays with her fingers and bites on her bottom lip as she looks around the place, hoping their little ones would come running soon. All she wanted was to hug and kiss them both and go home. 

“I hope you don’t mind me asking... but are you alright?” Sam questions, not letting much silence take over the moment. 

He was worried about her. In fact, Sam always worried about her. Not in a bad way, it wasn’t like she couldn’t take care of herself nor did he think she’d do anything she’d regret. He worried because he still loved her. They weren’t close like they used to be and it killed him not to know how she was doing. He missed being the one who was there for her. 

Diane looks up and puts on a fake smile, “oh I’m alright. Today has just been a long day and I’m ready to go home” she lies. 

It was partially the truth but mostly, not. The day had been long but it was more than just that. She was being asked to work with the one person at the university she despised, Sumner. Not only that but the university wanted her to take part in other activities on campus. As much as she wanted to do that, she couldn’t. She had her writing to focus on and the kids.

Sam knew she was lying. He could tell the difference between her fake smile and her genuine one. He wasn’t going to pry though, he knew it wasn’t his place. “Well... if you would like for me to keep the kids for an extra night that’s more than okay with me. You can go home and relax” he suggests. 

Tempting as it was, Diane didn’t want to accept his offer. “Oh I don’t think so. I think I would prefer taking them home and spending the night watching some cheesy kid’s movie.”

He nods in return, he couldn’t blame her. “Well if you ever need someone... to uh- talk to or... if you just need some company. I’m always here for you. Or I’m here to simply help relieve stress by taking care of the kids an extra day... whatever you need.”

Sam felt stupid immediately. He shouldn’t be trying to be involved in her life like that. They weren’t a couple anymore. He wasn’t the one taking care of her anymore.As much as he wanted to be. 

Diane looks at him again and smiles a little bit with a nod, “okay... I’ll remember that.” Just then both Ernie and Elizabeth come running out of their toy room. 

“Mommy!!!” they both exclaim in unison. Diane crouches down and greets them as they crash into her arms. 

A laugh comes from her and a big smile wipes across her face. There was nothing like having her two babies brighten up her day. They always could. 

She squeezes them both tight, “oh mommy missed you two so much!”

Diane then pulls back and smiles wide at both of them. “Did you guys have a good day with daddy?”

Elizabeth nods and smiles, “daddy got me a new coloring book!” 

“Well, isn’t that wonderful? And what about you mister? did you when fun with daddy?” Diane questions as she glances over at her youngest. 

He gives her a smile that resembles Sam’s and giggles, “daddy is the best!”

She nods and puts on a smile for her son, she wasn’t going to say otherwise to him. Diane presses a kiss to Ernie’s head and starts for the door. “We’ll get out of your hair now, see you later Sam” Diane says. 

“Yeah, see you soon” he replies and watches as she takes their children out of his house. 

Once the door closes he lets out a sigh. He already missed them. Elizabeth and Ernie were his main source of happiness nowadays. Of course Cheers was still a source for him and his friends, but those two were really what kept him going. 

Then there was Diane, he probably missed her the most. Not having Diane around anymore cast a shadow on his life. He knew it was ridiculous to believe that, but his life wasn’t so great without her. He didn’t realize what he had until she was gone. 

Over the past two years he had done a lot of growing. It took lots of effort to come to the realization that he hadn’t been the best husband. That their marriage had been far from perfect. It also took a lot of time and effort to admit that he caused a lot for their issues.

Though Sam knew Diane also played part in their issues as well, he knew that he didn’t treat her the way he should’ve. He was a fool for not worshipping the ground she walked on. In the beginning, that’s what he had done. They had some very happy years but then one day it all started to tumble.

It wasn’t all at once. Their marriage took several months to crumble. Several fights, several days spent without seeing each other, several unsolved issues, and more. Then one day Diane had decided that she couldn’t keep going on the same way.

At first he didn’t understand, sure they fought and didn’t see each other enough but what was the big deal? They could work it out. They always had. However now, after two years, Sam understood. She had hit her breaking point and knew there was no way to fix things unless they both changed. He had to change more than she did.  ⠀ ⠀⠀

Sam walks over to the couch and takes a seat, staring at nothing as he dives into his mind.He missed seeing her next to him at every moment. Missed her laugh and her smile, the way her nose would scrunch up when he said something silly, he missed when she would come to Cheers everyday just to see him, he missed everything. 

Was there a way to get her back? He wasn’t sure. Sam had a feeling she still loved him but he knew it wasn’t going to be simple. 


	2. Chapter 2

“So, I want you all to choose an author you admire. Whether it be Shakespeare or Ernest Hemingway. Find an author you resonate deeply with and-“ Diane is cut off by the telephone on the desk ringing.

She apologizes and tells the students to begin on deciding an author. Diane then picks up the phone and puts the receiver to her ear, “Hello?”

Diane wasn’t sure who would be calling now. This was her time to work, to educate the youth and she did not have time for distractions. She hoped this would be quick.

“Hi Diane, it’s Sam. I’m sorry for calling... I know you’re busy at the university but Elizabeth is sick. She keeps insisting that she wants you. She won’t listen to me at all” he sighs. 

She sighs as well, “okay tell her I’ll be there soon.” 

Diane hangs up and turns her attention back to the class. “Well everyone that was my...” she hesitates, unsure she what she should refer to Sam as. Her husband? Her ex? She wasn’t sure. 

Clearing her throat, she carries on, “my husband. It seems that my daughter has fallen ill and I need to go home to take care of her. Class is cancelled, we’ll discuss the paper again on Monday.”  
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⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀————⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀  
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Sam opens the door when he hears knocking. On the other side stood Diane holding a pink fuzzy blanket and a teddy bear. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry for interrupting your day” he says as he opens the door further for her. 

Diane walks in and shakes her head, “it’s okay. I’m glad you called, I want to be there for our little girl” she says and follows Sam to Elizabeth’s room.

He nods, “she’ll be happy to see you.” Sam opens the door to her room and on the bed was Elizabeth cuddled under her blankets.

“Mommy!” she sickly squeals before letting out a cough. The six year old was paler than usual (she had the same alabaster skin as her mother) and her cheeks were slightly red. 

Diane feels a slight pang in her chest, she hated seeing her princess like this. “Hi princess! Mommy brought your favorite blanket and your favorite teddy bear” she puts on a smile to try to make her feel better and walks toward the bed.

Meanwhile Sam takes a step back and watches as Diane takes care of their daughter. It wasn’t often that he got to see her do that anymore. Did it ever make his heart full.

Diane was a natural at being a mother. He remembered how afraid she was of screwing up when she was pregnant with Elizabeth. How she feared she wouldn’t be the mother their daughter would need or want. However it was the exact opposite. Parenting was a learning experience for both of them and Diane caught on quickly. From the start she was a terrific mother and Elizabeth adored her. 

He only watches a for a couple more seconds before he steps out of the room. Sam goes to the kitchen and toward the stove. He had prepared some soup for Elizabeth in hopes it would make her feel better.  
⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀  
⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀————⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀  
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Gently, Diane presses a wet, cold rag to her daughter’s forehead as Sam continues to feed her soup. Here they were, just like old times, taking care of their little girl.

Diane uses her other hand to run her fingers through her daughter’s golden locks as a way to soothe her. The coughing had at least gone down but her fever hadn’t, it was still at 101.4. 

As soon as Elizabeth is done, Sam sets aside the bowl on her bedside table. He rejoins his daughter’s side and presses a gentle peck to the top of her head. “Do you think you can get some rest, princess?” 

He figured that plenty of sleep would break the fever or at least make it go down. Elizabeth nods, “can you and mommy read me a story?” she questions.

Sam glances over at Diane, knowing that they had no choice. They didn’t want to turn down their sick daughter. Diane shrugs in return and slides off of her daughter’s bed, “do you have a book in mind princess?” she asks as she goes to the small bookshelf.

“Franklin!” she exclaims but coughs again after. It was a favorite of hers.

The older blonde nods and grabs the book off the shelf then returns to her daughters side. Sam joins her on the same side, scooting close so that they both can read different lines. 

Diane’s heart immediately begins to race as he gets close to her. How badly she wanted to rest in his arms like she used to when they would read together to their daughter. Now she couldn’t. Now they had to keep their distance.

Distance. Inches apart, away from each other, no longer close. Being separated hurt. Being apart hurt. She missed him. She hated herself for missing him. Why couldn’t she move on? Why did she still have to be stupidly in love with him? 

Her thoughts are interrupted by the same man they were about, he was slightly leaning over her shoulder now. “I hope this is alright” he whispers in her ear. 

That sends chills up and down her body. Now her heart was skipping several beats. Her stomach had flipped upside down. They hadn’t been this close in a long long time. 

Diane slowly lets out the breath she had been holding and nods in return. How in the world was she going to get through this?  
⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀  
⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀————⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀  
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Slowly, she closes the door to Elizabeth’s room behind her. It only took one read through of the book for her to be out like a light. Hopefully this would break her fever. 

“You know, I’d say we make a pretty good team” Sam says softly as they walk down the hall. They were going to check on Ernie, who had been napping the entirety of Diane being there. 

Yet again her heart skips a beat. They made more than a good team, they were excellent. Whenever one child had an issue they solved it as a team. They had always been a team. Why did they ever let their relationship fall apart? How could such a remarkable team lose their way?

She nods in return, “we always have been...” Diane wanted to say that they were more than great but she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready to open that door again.

The two walk into Ernie’s room and slowly approach his bed. Diane smiles as she sees him fast asleep, he was incredibly precious. Quickly, she presses a kiss to his forehead before stepping away and toward the door. 

Sam follows behind only seconds later and toward the door. The past nearly hour that she was here had been the highlight of his week, as lame as that was. Just her presence made his day better. 

“I suppose I should be going then. Please give me a call when Elizabeth wakes up and let me know how she’s doing” Diane insists. 

“Why don’t you stay for dinner? I’m sure she’ll be awake by the time it’s ready, Ernie too. Besides I know they’d love to have you here for dinner” he suggests.

Sam couldn’t believe that he was making such a leap by asking her to stay. He knew she would say no but it was worth a shot. He didn’t want her to leave yet. 

Neither did she. Why go back to an empty home? It was always so lonely whenever the kids weren’t there. Even when they were there were times when she felt lonely. It would be nice to have that feeling go away for at least an evening. 

Still, she hesitates. “Oh... I don’t know. I don’t want to impose on your evening. Besides... I have some stuff at home I should get done.”

That wasn’t completely the truth. Diane did have some grading to finish and writing as well but that wouldn’t take her long. She just wasn’t sure if a dinner with him was something she would be able to handle.

Sam nods, “That’s fine. Thank you for coming on such short notice. Your help means a lot” he says and opens the door for her. 

She looks up at him and nods, giving small smile. “Of course, anything for our little girl” she replies and inches closer to the door.

Sam watches as she steps out of the doorway and on to the front porch. He hated to see her go, wanting her to stay for dinner with them. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you” she says in return and listens as he closes the door. Instead of going straight for her car, Diane stands there for a few moments. She didn’t want to leave. The last hour or so had been so nice, it made her feel so good. 

They had worked as a team. There was no arguing for once, no rude remarks made to the other, nothing as bad as it was. It reminded her of when they were in the earlier stages of their marriage. It felt good to be that way again. Maybe, just maybe, she could prolong that.

It had barley been a full minute since Diane had walked out the door so she quickly turns back around. She knocks on the door and nervously fiddles with her fingers. She felt silly for turning him down and then changing her mind right away. 

Sam opens the door and raises a brow, “did you forget something?” he questions. He wasn’t expecting that she would change her mind. 

“Actually uh...” she clears her throat, “joining you for dinner sounds great” her cheeks burn as she says this. Part of her was embarrassed for changing her mind so quickly. The other felt like a school girl who was crushing on the cutest guy in the school and didn’t have a chance. 

He smiles at that and opens the door again, “come on in, the kids will be thrilled to hear you’re joining us.”

With that, Diane steps back into Sam’s home and lets him close the door behind her.  
⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀  
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The dinner goes better than Diane could’ve ever expected. She hadn’t laughed or smiled this hard since their separation. She never wanted the night to end. 

The night was spent talking reminiscing about their ridiculous times and their purely good times. Talking about when they were happy made Diane both happy and sad. It gave her hope about their future in a way. It also made her sad that they weren’t living in happy times anymore. She just wanted it to be that way again.

The two were now sitting on his back porch on the steps, watching Elizabeth and Ernie play in the backyard. They wouldn’t be there long because it was getting late but for now both were trying to soak up the moment. 

They were sitting closer than they had intended but still keeping their distance. Each knowing that keeping the distance was better.

Neither Sam nor Diane had said a word since they sat down together. 

“I can’t believe how much they’ve grown” Diane finally says. Their little ones weren’t so little anymore. Of course they were only four and six but they were growing right before her eyes.

“I know, I don’t know where the time has gone” he replies and glances over at her. 

It wasn’t just their children who had grown, it was Sam and Diane as well. From the very beginning of their relationship to now had been a rollercoaster. Each had changed so much, grown in their own ways and together. 

Sam was certainly not the same person he was when he first met Diane. No longer did he care about womanizing all the time. He gave more thought to life and what he future could hold. He tried to show how he felt more and really tried to let others know they mattered to him.

Of course that was where his downfall was. It was part of why they had separated. Sam realized that he didn’t let Diane know enough that she mattered to him. She was the one person who deserved to know it the most and he failed at that. He hadn’t regressed but he hadn’t grown enough to know how to fix their relationship. His willingness to work hard with her wasn’t as strong as it should’ve been. He didn’t realize how much of jerk he still was at the time.

Now that was different. Sam wasn’t perfect, he never would be but he had come to learn a lot about himself. He realized that all of those fights they had were pointless. That arguing was healthy for the relationship but letting it escalate so far each time wasn’t good. Communication is very much a key to a successful relationship. That Diane deserved to know she’s the only person who makes his heart do backflips. How incredibly important she is to him. Now his will to work on all of their issues was stronger than ever. The only problem though, he knew it had to be too late. At least that’s what he assumed. 

Diane glances over at Sam, instinctively sliding her hand into his. She doesn’t even realize that she had done it. It was nothing to her. “You okay? You’re thinking very loudly” she murmurs with a giggle. 

She had taken notice of his demeanor changing and a shift in his posture. Simple things that no one else would notice about him. She had always done that. She knew something was up with just one glance at him. 

Sam wasn’t the only one who had grown since their first encounter. Perhaps not as much as he had but most certainly in some ways. Class had always been an important thing to her before she came to Cheers. It was how she was raised. Now, it didn’t matter. Not since she followed her crummy ex into a local watering hole that everyone seemed to love.

Meeting Sam brought her to a whole new world. She met some of the kindest people in her life. One of them being whom they named their son after. Yes she still had her pretentious ways, old habits certainly die hard, but she was not nearly as bad as she used to be. 

She fell for a man she would’ve never guess she’d fall for. Diane didn’t just fall for Sam, she dove head first. At first Sam had been exciting to her. He wasn’t like any other man she had ever dated. To this day he was still exciting to her. In the beginning she didn’t know where their relationship would lead. Now here they were, years later with children and still in the will they or won’t they be together situation. Diane definitely wanted to be together but she was scared that they would be right back here again. 

Sam’s heart starts to race as he feed her hand in his. He decides not to say anything about it though, afraid she’d back away from the moment. He chuckles and nods, “I’m alright.”

Diane nods too and squeezes his hand. Now she was well aware of her hand in his. It made her incredibly nervous but at the same time she felt head over heels. 

Diane didn’t know it yet, but she was practically falling in love with him all over again.  
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⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀————⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀  
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“It’s getting late... I should really get going” the blonde says as she steps out of Ernie’s room with Sam. They had both just finished putting the kids to bed for the night. It was nearing nine which wasn’t very late but she knew it was best to get home.

“Are you sure? If you think it’s too late you’re welcome to stay here. I’ll take the couch and you can take my bed” He offers. 

She smiles at that as they walk together, thankfully he was next to her and not looking so he doesn’t see it. “Thank you for the offer but I need to be up early tomorrow, I should just go on home” Diane insists.

Sam nods and watches as she grabs her coat then purse. “Well, can I at least walk you to your car?” 

Another smile comes to her face and this time she lets him see. “Okay that I can agree to.”

Moments later, the two walk out of his house and down the steps of the front porch. He couldn’t be out long with two sleeping children inside but he’d be sure to watch her go from the house. 

As she reaches her car Diane turns to Sam before getting in. “Thank you for letting me stay for dinner, I think it’s the most fun I’ve had in quite awhile.”

He nods in return, “of course, thank you for saying. Can I expect to see you again soon?”

Diane considers for a moment, she wanted to say yes immediately. Yes he’d see her again and not just because of the kids. She wanted to run into his arms and never leave them again. Yet her brain wasn’t letting her heart do the talking. It was still recovering from the hurt. “I’ll see you Monday when I pick up the kids after work” she confirms.

Pain hits him in the chest but he holds back on letting it go further. He knew it would be too much to expect her to want to see him again outside of the kids. Maybe this would be the one time. He gives her a small smile then nods, “See you then.”

The two part ways and Sam walks over to his porch. He stands there for a moment and watches as Diane pulls away in car. Though he was turned down, he was filled with a new sense of hope. They were on the long road to reconciliation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! hope you enjoyed this. kudos/comments are always welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks passed within a blink of an eye. Not a whole lot has changed between Sam and Diane. However they were talking and seeing each other a little more frequently. They’d use the kids as an excuse to see each other though, not quite advanced to seeing each other alone.

Diane wasn’t ready for that yet. She was still afraid, afraid of getting hurt by him again. She wasn’t sure what she would do if that happened again. Going through heartbreak like that was unbearable. It was a wonder how she got through it more than once. 

This weekend was going to be a little more different than usual. It was starting to become a habit that Diane would show up on Saturday’s and stay for awhile with him and the kids. They had been doing this for the past two weeks. However, this Saturday was going to be different for Diane.

She had plans to take a weekend to herself and go down to Cape Cod. She needed a weekend actually away from him. Even after being separated for two years she still saw Sam frequently. It wasn’t that she didn’t like seeing him, but she needed time to herself. That also meant not taking care of their children whom she loved dearly. 

Being a parent was a lot of stress and a lot of work. Not to mention she was balancing being a teacher, an author, and a now confusing relationship with Sam. She just needed a couple days away to center herself and figure out what it was she wanted her future to hold.  
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Sam finishes refilling Norm’s beer and slides it back over to him. “Thank you Sammy.”

“Anytime” Sam replies and turns back toward the bar to get some lemons cut up. 

He smiles a little to himself as he begins cutting, he was thinking about Diane again. The past two weeks they had spent together, were amazing. It felt like they were getting somewhere in their relationship and it wasn’t just awkward anymore.

While he’s cutting the phone rings, so he grabs it from under the bar and picks up “Cheers.”

“Hi Sam, it’s me” Diane’s voice comes through from the other end.

Immediately, his heart flutters, “Hi... I was just thinking about you” he replies.

Both Norm and Cliff look at Sam and in unison say, “ooooooohhhhhh” in a mocking tone. 

He scrunches up his faces, waves them away, and moves a little further down the bar.

“Sam...” she couldn’t help but blush from that. His flirting had started up again and it still made her swoon. 

“How can Sammy help you, sweetheart?” 

“Actually I was wondering if I could come by early? Like tonight?” Diane questions.

He hums, “coming by early to finally tip your toes back into Sammy’s pool?” Sam teases. 

“Sam!” she exclaims. He just knew that if she was there with him she would’ve playfully shoved him. She would’ve given him a stern look but then would’ve started laughing her beautiful laugh. He missed when they’d mess around with each other like that. 

Sam laughs, “sorry sorry. Yeah you can come by tonight, are you bringing the kids?”

“Yeah if don’t mind to take them a night early. I’ll be by pretty late that they’ll probably go straight to bed” Diane explains. 

He nods, “that’s fine with me... see you then.”

Once they hang up Sam slides the phone back under the bar. He turns back to his friends who were all giving him a knowing look. “Sounds like Diane wants you back Sammy” Norm smirks.

“Yeah are you going to give it to her?” Cliff adds.

Sam shakes his head, “nah... I don’t think she wants me back guys. We’re just now starting to talk more. I’m sure there’s a reason she’s coming by early.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that Sam. She’s always been in love with you. Take it from someone who was a victim of that” Frasier pipes up. 

“Ah come on Fraj, don’t you think it’s time to let that go? It’s been years now. Besides you’re married to Lilith, does it really matter anymore?” Sam questions.

“She left me at the alter! In Italy!” Frasier objects. That would be something he would never get over. 

Sam shakes his head in return, “well I’m not too sure she’s still in love with me. It’s been two years since we separated.”

Little did Sam know.  
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“I hope bringing them by early didn’t disrupt your night” Diane says as she and Sam walk out of Elizabeth’s room. It was very late now so both kids were fast asleep. 

Sam had just finished up at Cheers and Diane had just finished doing some extra work so she wouldn’t have to worry about it over the weekend. 

“Oh don’t worry about it. I’m more than happy to spend extra time with them” Sam assures as they walk toward the door.

Diane smiles a little, it made her happy that he enjoyed spending time with them. Even though they were his children that didn’t mean he had to like spending time with them. Thankfully he did, she could see that and could see how much he loved them. 

“Can I ask why you dropped them by early? Are you still coming by tomorrow?” Sam questions.

“Actually, no. I’m going down to the Cape in the morning” Diane says as she slides back into her coat. 

“Are you.... are you meeting someone there?” instantly he feels a burning sensation in his chest. God he hoped she wasn’t meeting someone at the Cape. This would throw off their road to reconciliation. 

Diane hums, “mm... I might be” she messes with him. Of course that was a lie. Was Sam jealous? That meant he still felt something for her didn’t it? Now her heart was pounding.

“Oh... well have fun, I hope you have a good time” Sam lies, obviously hurt by the idea of her being with some other guy. He knew he didn’t have the right but he couldn’t help it.

Diane looks at him for a moment and then takes his hand, “Sam, I’m not meeting anyone up there so you don’t have to worry” she slightly chuckles. 

“Pssssh me? Worried? No I wasn’t worried sweetheart, I knew you weren’t going up there to see anyone” he brushes off even though it was the exact opposite.

She giggles and shakes her head, “okay whatever you say. I’ll see you Tuesday” Diane replies and squeezes his hand. 

Sam watches as she steps out of the house and to her car. He stays until he knows she’s made it out of his driveway then returns to the couch. He was glad she told him that she wasn’t going to be seeing anyone there. If not, he would’ve been on a jealous streak all weekend.  
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Saturday afternoon, Diane sits out on the balcony of her room at the Cape with a book in her hand. The sun was shining down on her and though it was rather warm, the cool breeze coming from the ocean helped. 

Even though she was reading away, Diane’s mind couldn’t help but wander. She was thinking about Sam again. How the past two weeks has been the best since they split. It felt as though the emotional walls she had built were slowly coming down. That scared her but at the same time it excited her.

The thought of losing him again wasn’t something she could bear. That’s what scared her. What if he hadn’t changed? What if he was the same man she had separated from two years ago? They had only spent two weeks together, how could she know if he had changed?

Diane sighs and sets down the book. She came down here to relax and here she was again, stressing herself out over her situation. 

About ten minutes later, the blonde settles herself into a warm bubble bath. She sighs of relief and takes in the scent of eucalyptus surrounding the air around her. Maybe a nice warm bath would help her figure out what she wanted. 

During her bath, Diane goes over her relationship with Sam. There wasn’t a question if she loved him or not. She had been in love with him for a long time. About twelve years to be exact. She couldn’t just stop loving him after that long. Besides, she was positive that their souls were connected. 

She just didn’t know if she was ready to go back in to their relationship. They had experienced so many highs and lows. The constant off and on relationship. It was all so much for her to handle. 

Then again, she always had believed the good times outweighed the bad. He made her so happy, and some days like the most special woman alive.

She couldn’t see herself settling down with any other man. Dating others never worked. None of them were like Sam was. Not a single one knew her like he did. She wasn’t willing to open up like that to another man either.

Her mind was telling her to keep her distance and not get hurt again. On the other hand, her heart was screaming at her to just take the jump and let herself go back to him. Diane loved him, so why not? 

Maybe the answer was right there in front of her. It wasn’t either of those, it was a combination. She could keep her distance but let herself slowly go back to him. Let Sam show her that he’s changed. If she could see that and he could show her how much she meant to him, maybe her walls would come down. Maybe she’d give herself, all of herself to him again.

Of course, that wasn’t going to happen over night. This could takes months, if not even more than a year. Even so, Diane didn’t care. She loved Sam and whether it took five months or five years for her to open her heart again to him, it didn’t matter. It was worth the wait.  
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Around 10pm, Diane was in bed tossing and turning, unable to get herself to sleep. Her mind was still going a million miles a second but there again, it never turned off even when she wasn’t stressed.

Diane had come to a conclusion on what she wanted but it still had her stressed. She didn’t know what the future was going to bring or what ways things would go wrong. Her brain was currently going over every scenario, from the least extreme to the most.

Only a few minutes later, the phone next to her rings. Who the hell was that? 

She groans and leans over and grabs the phone, “hello?” Diane questions tiredly. She was exhausted but she couldn’t sleep, it was terrible.

“Can’t sleep either?” Sam says on the other end.

Diane’s brows raise and sits up in bed, “Sam? How did you know where I was? Let alone what room I’m in?” 

“I think I know you well enough to know that you’re in the only room we’d stay in every time we’d come to the Cape. The bed still as comfortable as I remember?”

She blushes, how sweet of him to remember that. Then she giggles, “yeah it is.” Diane wiggles herself down a little more and lets herself get comfy again. 

“What’s on your mind? Why can’t you sleep?” Sam questions.

Diane sighs. She wasn’t exactly sure if she could tell him about how she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Or how she decided that she wanted to try moving forward with him slowly. 

“Work has had me stressed recently. I have to start working with Sumner when I return... and the thought of being near him makes me want to vomit” she admits.

It wasn’t actually what was making her unable to sleep but it was one of the factors of why she was so stressed. Sumner brought bad nothing but horrible memories. How he left her for his ex wife, abandoned her in a place she didn’t know, and left her unemployed. Granted it was also one of the best things to ever happen to her. Without it she would’ve never met some of the most incredible people ever. She would’ve never met the love of her life. Regardless, she would never forget that feeling of being abandoned by someone she truly loved and trusted. 

“Want me to punch his lights out for ya?” Sam jokes.

Diane smiles at that and chuckles, “If it doesn’t get me fired then... perhaps.”

Sam laughs too, “okay it’s a deal.”

For the next hour, Diane and Sam stay on the phone together chatting. They were talking about everything and nothing. It felt like they were just as close as they once were. That sparked a flame in her she hadn’t felt in so long.

“Sam...?” she questions in a tired voice, her face was now pressed up against the pillow with the phone pressed up against her other ear.

“Mm...mhm?” He murmurs. Both were beyond tired now, but neither one wanted to hang up. 

“Will you stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep?” 

He hums quietly then replies, “yeah... of course. Anything you want sweetheart.”

Diane’s heart flutters at that and a tired smile comes to her face. She hadn’t felt this happy in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also I hope you guys like the little Frasier moment I threw in because he never lets that go lol. Kudos and feedback are always welcome!
> 
> Another note: I realized while writing this that it’s not as angsty as I originally thought it was going to be so I removed the second tag in the description. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy this story anyway. The next chapter will be up soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Before she knew it, it was Saturday again. Diane found herself driving to Sam’s to pick up Elizabeth and Ernie. She wasn’t sure if she’d be staying today, she still had a lot of work to get done before the day was over.

When she arrives, Diane gives Sam a smile when he opens the door. “Hi sweetheart” he greets.

“Hi are they ready to go?” she questions as she steps into the house.

“Aren’t you going to stay?” Sam questions.

“Oh I can’t... I have so much work to do today. I’m not sure if it’d be a good idea” Diane explains.

Seconds later both of their children come up to the door and smile, “mommy mommy... can we stay longer? We wanna watch a movie with daddy” Elizabeth questions.

Diane glances up at Sam and he gives her a smile, it was fine with him. “I suppose princess as long as daddy doesn’t mind.”

“It’s perfectly fine with me. I can bring them home later if you’d like” he suggests.

“Mommy can you stay?” Elizabeth asks.

“Oh princess... I don’t know” Diane hesitates. With all the work she needed to do, it didn’t seem like she could do that. 

“Pleeeaaaseeee? Mommy pleaseeee?” Ernie begs and walks over to her, wrapping his tiny arms around her calf. 

She glances down at her leg then back up at Sam who was now sticking out his bottom lip to beg too. Diane giggles, “oh... oh alright I’ll stay.”⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀  
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With the movie playing now, they had a little set up going in his living room. Elizabeth and Ernie were on the floor with a lot of pillows and blankets. On the other hand, Diane and Sam were sitting on the couch. She was on one end and he was on the other still keeping their distance. 

Diane had made up her mind on what she wanted while away at the Cape but she wasn’t sure how slow she wanted to take things. Maybe they’d hold hands here and there throughout the night. Maybe they’d inch closer to each other too. That was perfectly fine with her but she had to admit, it felt weird not to cuddle with him.

They used to cuddle on the couch all of the time. She’d sit in his arms or lay on top of him. It was something they did so regularly that little to no though was put into it. 

Now, here they were, on opposite ends of the couch and it didn’t feel right. She definitely missed having his arms around her. It was one do the most comforting feelings in the world. Perhaps sometime in the future they’d be back to that stage. For now, they kept their distance.   
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Sam wasn’t sure how it happened. The night had gone great, better than that. They had all watched the movie as family as they once used to. 

Sometime as the night progressed Sam and Diane had moved closer to each other. He remembered her sitting next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. He never commented on it because he didn’t want to ruin the moment. 

At some point they had fallen asleep. Now it was early in the morning, too early for the sun to be up and too early for anyone else to be awake. It had to be around three or four but Sam wasn’t sure, he couldn’t see the clock. He didn’t dare move.

Here he was on the couch laying down, the kids were just below him on the floor fast asleep too. Diane on the other hand wasn’t asleep across from him. Nor was she asleep on the floor. No, she was laying down with him.  
Some how she had ended up in his arms. That was not his intention but in no way was he complaining.

Diane face was snuggled into the crook of his neck. He could feel her breath hit his neck gently each time she breathed in and out. Her hand was resting on his chest and her legs were intertwined with his. 

Sam has his arms wrapped around her torso and was holding her tight. He wasn’t complaining, in fact he couldn’t believe that they had ended up like this.

It felt like some sort of dream. If it was, he never ever wanted to wake up from it. This was the closest they had been since their divorce. He was cherishing every second of it.

He only hoped that she wouldn’t freak out in the morning when she woke up.   
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Around eight in the morning Diane begins to wake up. She wasn’t quite awake though, she was still in the half awake half asleep stage. 

She shifts in Sam’s arms and snuggles her face closer into his neck. Her brain doesn’t completely register what she was doing. All she knew was that she was comfortable and that was enough for her. 

Nearly an hour later is when she finally wakes up. This time it wasn’t just her fading in and out of sleep. As she’s coming to, Diane rubs her eyes and finally realizes where she was. Holy shit. 

How did this happen? How did she end up in Sam’s arms? More importantly when did this happen? When did they fall asleep? Those questions and a thousand more were racing through her mind. 

Slowly, she pulls herself out of his arms and moves herself off the couch. Diane then looks back and glances down at Sam, who was sitting up now. “I... um... I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that even happened.”

Sam shakes his head, “don’t be sorry. I should’ve said something.... I’ve been awake for the past hour. I didn’t want to wake you though, you seemed very comfortable” he remarks.

Diane looks down and feels the embarrassment creep in on her. Her cheeks flushing and her chest slightly burning from the embarrassment. Truth be told, that was probably the best sleep she had in a long time. 

“I really should get the kids home... they both have school tomorrow and besides I need to get some stuff done for work...” Diane explains and walks over to her children. 

Gently, she wakes both up and explains to them that it was time to go home. After some whining and slight complaining, she gets them up and toward the door. 

As they head out Diane turns back to Sam, “thank you for letting us stay.”

He nods in return, “anytime.”  
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Sam watches as Diane files out of his house with their kids. He couldn’t stop replaying last night over and over again in his head. 

He could recall how it started off with simple hand holding. Sometime during the night it had progressed to Diane resting her head on his shoulder. Sam remembered how it made his heart skip several beats. Never did he expect to it to escalate to them cuddling while they slept though.

They hadn’t cuddled in a long long time and if he was honest, it felt amazing. It was like nothing had changed except everything had. 

Sam begins to make his way toward the bathroom, wanting to get a shower. However before he can even leave the room he hears a knock at the door. 

It had only been a few minutes since Diane had left the house with Elizabeth and Ernie. Maybe she had forgotten something.

When Sam opens the door Diane looks up from the ground and at him. As she’s about to say what she intended on, that Elizabeth had forgotten her favorite stuffed bear, the words fail to come out. 

Her heart begins to pound out of her chest as she stares into Sam’s eyes. He doesn’t say anything either, it was as if they both knew. 

Diane takes a step forward and her heart takes control of her mind. Both of them at once grab the other. Diane grabs Sam by his cheeks and he grabs her by her waist. They don’t even waste a second, crashing their lips together. 

Sam pulls Diane into the house and pulls her closer to him. He takes in the familiar feeling of her soft lips against his. He once took that feeling for granted but no longer. He wasn’t ever going do that again. 

Her heart was nearly out of her chest. She couldn’t believe that they had taken this step. Though she couldn’t believe it, she wasn’t upset about it. It felt right, like they were pieces of a puzzle coming back together. 

The kiss carries on longer than either had expected. Then again now that this pandora’s box had been open, there was absolutely no closing it. 

After a couple more seconds, Diane pulls away and pants a little bit. “Elizabeth... Elizabeth forget her favorite teddy bear.” 

Sam nods, “I’ll get it” he replies. 

As soon as Sam comes back from Elizabeth’s room, he hands over the bear. “Thank you” Diane nods and turns toward the door again.

“I’ll see you soon?” Sam questions. He wished she could stay but he knew she had the kids to take care of for the day and a load of work.

Diane looks back at him and nods, “You’ll see me soon, I promise.” 

With that, Diane steps out of his house once again and lets the door close behind her. 

Now he couldn’t wait to see her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they finally kissed and now pandora’s box has been opened. But it’s Sam and Diane and it’s never as simple as just getting back together. Let’s just say it won’t be easy for them.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Kudos and feedback are always welcome.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little note: almost the entire chapter is written about a past experience that happened with Sam and Diane before their separation.

_ A sigh comes from Diane’s lips as she closes the door to their home. She had spent the last hour waiting for Sam to come home and he hadn’t. He was still at Cheers and she hadn’t heard a word from him all day. _

_ This wasn’t unusual nowadays. They weren’t spending as much time together anymore. They didn’t even interact much when they were together. The would only have small talk or none at all. Besides that, the most they did was have sex. There wasn’t much else. _

_ It broke her heart. She missed her fella being around more often. Whenever they first got married, they worked out a system where he’d come home earlier and maybe go in to Cheers a little later so they could spend time together. Diane wouldn’t be by all of the time but when she was they worked as a team to run the bar. _

_ Whenever Diane accepted the professor job at Boston University, they still made time to see each other. Diane would go in for specific hours to make sure she was home often enough. Sometimes Sam would stop by during her office hours, as those could get boring, and they’d spend at least an hour of that time together. _

_ After Elizabeth was born, it put some constraints on their time together but they had always found a way. Even after their second child, Ernie, was born. _

_ Then one day it all changed. Sam started working more hours and wasn’t home as often. Diane decided to pick up more teaching hours and dove back into writing. Now here they were. She still tried to make time to see him but it was to no avail. _

_ Not even today, on one of the most important days of her life. Her birthday. Today was her birthday and Sam wasn’t here. Maybe it was some sort of mistake, maybe he had become caught up at the bar and couldn’t get here. There had to be some sort of logical explanation behind this right? _

_ Diane steps away from the door and strides into the kitchen. She goes over to the phone and gives Sam’s personal line at Cheers a call first. Straight to voicemail. _

_ “Hi my love... it’s me. I was hoping to catch you but I suppose you’re busy. The kids and I are going to head out for dinner at The Capital Grille if you’d like to join us. If you can’t, I hope I see you later tonight. I love you” she manages to get out the last part just before the beep. _

_ Diane sets the phone back down and lets out another sigh. She hoped this was just a misunderstanding. The thought that Sam could forget her birthday broke her heart. _ _ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ _

_ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ———— ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ _

_ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ _

_ Dinner with Elizabeth and Ernie mends Diane’s heart, at least partially. They both were little rays of sunshine and could always light up her dark days.  _

_ Still, there was a hole in heart where Sam was supposed to be. _

_ Though they were still together, it felt like they weren’t. It felt as if they weren’t a couple anymore. They were just two people living together that would sometimes interact and usually it was just for sex. They spent a lot of time arguing and fighting too. _

_ No longer did they tease each other, nor did they hold hands randomly just to do so, they wouldn’t sneak kisses at different moments anymore, they rarely would cuddle, they didn’t talk about how they felt, they didn’t act like themselves. They weren’t being like Sam and Diane. _

_ Diane stares at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a black dress that she knew Sam loved. Her hair was pulled back to show off her neckline and the necklace that rested on it. One that Sam has given to her. Her golden heart necklace. _

_ She brings a hand up to the golden charm and grips it in her hand. She breathes in and lets it out slow, a few tears following behind. Why wasn’t he here? He used to never miss her birthday. _

_ In the past, her birthday was a special event for the entire family. Usually Sam would go the extra mile to be sure that her day was fantastic. He would take her out to a restaurant of her choice or sometimes he’d attempt cooking one of her favorite meals. Then he’d give her some darling gift and they’d spend the night in bliss. Not today though. No, she was spending her birthday mostly alone. _

_ The tears continue to run down her cheeks until she can’t get them to stop. Her emotions build up until they burst over the top. Diane sinks to the floor of their bedroom and begins to sob. Her heart felt as if it was crumbling to pieces. _

_ All of this was beginning to get to her. They had lost their way and she wasn’t sure if there was any coming back. _ _ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ _

_ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ———— ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ _

_ It was around midnight now, Diane was still awake on the couch. She had decided to wait up on Sam knowing that he would be home around midnight or one in the morning. At least she hoped so.  _

_ Even though her heart was absolutely shattered, she decided that she was going to confront him. She needed to make sure he knew that he hurt her. He wasn’t going to get away with this. _

_ Only twenty minutes later she hears the front door open. Diane sets aside her book and gets up from the couch. Now the pain was settling in further, seeing him standing in the foyer made it all feel much more real. _

_ Sam steps down from the foyer and approaches Diane with a somber look. “Diane... sweetheart, I’m so sorry for not being home.” _

_ He tries to bring his arms around her but she pushes away. “No, no you don’t get to make this all better with kissing me or anything.” _

_ Diane steps back from him too and wipes a few tears off her cheeks. “You weren’t here. I called and you didn’t pick up. Do you know what it’s like to tell the kids that daddy isn’t with us because he cares more about his work than he does his family? Do you know how hard that is? I spent my birthday crying because you weren’t here. That’s not how I wanted to spend my birthday.” _

_ “Diane... I—“ she cuts him off before he can even finish his thought. Diane shakes her head and walks toward the staircase. “I don’t want to hear what you have to say. There’s nothing you can say that’s going to make up for this. You should’ve been here.” _

_ Without another word, Diane goes upstairs toward their bedroom. She didn’t want to see Sam for the rest of the night. The pain she felt was deeper than it had been. This was all becoming too much for her. _

_ Diane takes a seat on their bed and begins to cry again, why did this have to happen? Why did their relationship have to take such a sour turn? _ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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Diane wakes up to the sound of her alarm clock blaring next to her. She groans and quickly turns it off. Yet another dream about a moment when things with Sam were bad. 

She used to have these dreams pretty regularly when they first broke up. She used to wake up and start crying from them. That was never a good way to start her day. Now, those dreams were rare and she usually didn’t cry from them anymore. Though, yes, that moment in the relationship and many others hurt her terribly she tried to move forward over the past two years. 

It wasn’t easy in the slightest but she had forgiven him. She hadn’t actually told him to his face yet since they hadn’t even had a conversation about their past yet. That time in their life was not favorable for either one of them. That was no excuse for how he treated her but she knew in her heart that forgiving him was the right thing to do. 

Maybe that was why she was willing to even speculate the possibility of getting back together with him. 

Diane wasn’t entirely positive but from the past nearly month they had spent together, it seemed to her that Sam had changed. That he had grown. There was no reason to hold a grudge any longer. She wanted her broken pieces to mend back together. 

Of course that didn’t mean that she still wasn’t afraid of what could happen. She believed he changed but she needed more time to really see it. 

Her hope was that together, they could mend not only their own broken pieces but the broken pieces of their relationship. It was a definite thing that Diane wanted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I apologize for giving you a bit of angst but I decided I wanted to show a little bit of what their life was like before the separation. Never fear, Diane knows in her heart want she wants. 
> 
> Also, kudos and feedback are always welcome!


	6. Chapter 6

Diane furiously scribbles away in her writing notebook. It was her lunch break and she only had fifty minutes to get all of her ideas down before her next class began.

It was approximately three months after she and Sam had shared that kiss in the foyer of his home. Now they saw each other almost everyday instead of just a couple times a week. He would could by with the kids and vice versa. Sometimes, she’d stop by the bar just to say hello for a few minutes. He would even stop by the university to do the same. 

They still hadn’t had an actual conversation about everything. The past, how they felt, the present, or what the future would hold. They hadn’t even defined what their current relationship was. There wasn’t any talk of being an “official” couple again but they acted like one. 

They held hands almost all of the time. If they took the kids to the park, if they all went out on a walk, if they sat at dinner together, they always held hands. They started cuddling on the couch again without hesitation when they’d visit each other. They would even sneak kisses here and there whenever it felt right. 

Whatever they were, Diane was happy. She hadn’t felt this happy in a long time. It seemed to be that the kids were happier too as they were spending more time with both of their parents instead of just one.

As Diane is just about done writing in her notebook, the phone on her desk rings. She jumps from the surprise of the ring and quickly picks up. She really hoped it was Sam calling. 

“Hello, this is Diane speaking” she says cheerily into the phone.

“Hello, this is Dr. Matthews at Mass General Division and Trauma. I’m calling to let you know that your mother, Helen, has suffered from a severe heart attack. She’s in critical condition and as her emergency contact, we’d like to have you here as soon as possible.”

Diane was silent at first, her mother was in the hospital? She felt a sharp pain in her chest, she couldn’t believe something had happened to her mother. “Oh... my gosh. Okay I’ll be right there.”  
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Diane sits the waiting room of the hospital continuously wiping away tears. Her mother was in critical condition and that terrified her. Though they never had the best relationship throughout her life, she never wanted anything bad to happen to her. 

After all, Diane still did love her mother. All of the times with her were not bad ones. She had some good memories with her. Like when they used to have Sunday tea together nearly every weekend until she went off for college. Or when her mother helped her get ready for her first high school dance. One of the only ones she went to. 

Diane sniffles and wipes her eyes a few more times before getting up from the chair. She couldn’t sit here and wallow in her sadness by herself anymore.

The kids were at school right now and she wasn’t going to pull them out for this. She didn’t want them to know their grandmother was in this condition. It was best that they didn’t know unless things took a turn for the worst. Lilith would be getting them after school too so she’d be alone for awhile. 

The blonde steps over to the payphone, digs out a few quarters, and dials the number she knew by heart. 

“Cheers” Woody says on the other end of the line.

She sniffles again, “hi Woody, could... could you put Sam on for me?”

“Sure thing Miss Chambers, one second” he replies.

Diane waits a few moments and continues wiping away her tears. Finally, she lets out a sigh of relief when she hears Sam’s voice. “Hello, Sam speaking.”

Diane sniffles, “Hi Sam... it’s me. I’m... I’m at Mass General Trauma, my mother had a major heart attack... I know you’re probably busy at the bar... but if you could come by... I really could use you here.”

As soon as Sam hears Diane sniffling, he jumps into protective mode. He hated it when she cried. “Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Let me see what I can do and I’ll try to be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay... I’m in the waiting room. I hope I can see you soon” she replies and hangs up. 

Once she hangs up, she takes a seat back down in a chair. She hoped Sam would be here soon, doing this alone was difficult.

Twenty minutes later, Diane shoots up from her chair when she sees Sam approaching, “you came” she breathes a sigh of relief.

He greets her with open arms and wraps his arms around her. “Of course I did” he says and pulls her in close.

Diane relaxes in his arms and grips on to him tightly. He had always made her feel extremely comforted in his embrace. She sniffles as she rests her chin against his shoulder, still worried about her mother. The thought of losing her was unbearable. 

After a few more moments Sam pulls away and looks down at a teary eyed and red cheeked Diane. He feels a tug at his heart and gently wipes away her tears. “It’s going to be okay” he assures.

That makes her eyes pool with more tears. She couldn’t get herself to stop. It was hard dealing with the thought of not having her mother around anymore. Even if her mother wasn’t as present in Diane’s life as she would’ve hoped, she wasn’t ready to lose her. 

“Oh sweetheart, I’m sorry... don’t cry” Sam says, seeing the tears in her eyes again and pulls her into another hug.

He couldn’t imagine what she was going through. Her mother was all she had left when it came to family. Besides Boggs, the butler who her mother married. Who for some reason wasn’t here. 

As they stand in the waiting room in each other’s arms, Sam slowly rubs his hand up and down along her back. While doing that he whispers to her that everything was going to be okay. That he was here for her no matter what, she wasn’t in this alone.   
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For the next hour or so, Diane and Sam sit in the waiting room of the hospital. Her head was resting on his shoulder while they held hands. She currently had her eyes closed, trying to rest as they waited to hear back from the doctor. 

He didn’t know how thankful she was for him. Sam could’ve decided not to come or maybe it could’ve been too busy at the bar. Instead he was right here, by her side. Having him here made all of this so much easier.

It was another fifteen minutes before a doctor finally came to the waiting room. “Mrs. Malone?” the doctor questions.

Diane sits up right away and feels her heart begin to race. Not just from the doctor coming in to finally give the news on how her mother was doing. Her heart felt like it was going a mile a second from her being referred to as “Mrs. Malone”. 

Technically yes, that was true. Legally she had taken Sam’s last name but usually she tried to go by Chambers-Malone. Sometimes it was easier to go by one or the other but she tried to go by both. It was more suitable to her. She hadn’t been called Mrs. Malone in a long while. “Yes, thats me. How is my mother? Is she going to be okay?” 

The doctor nods, “we performed a bypass surgery on her and it went successfully. She’s stable now and still somewhat out of it but you’re welcome to see her. In room 208.”

With those words, Diane feels a ginormous weight lift off of her shoulders. The relief sweeping through her was like no other. Her mother was going to be okay. 

She stands up and pulls Sam up along with her. “Do you want me to stay back here?” He asks. 

Diane shakes her head and turns toward him, “I really want you there with me... please” she gives him slight puppy dog eyes as if he needed any convincing. 

Those eyes make his heart melt and he nods, “of course.”

With that, Diane squeezes his hand and takes Sam off to her mother’s room.   
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Opening the front door to her home, Diane steps in with Sam close behind. “Thank you for following me back here... you really didn’t have to.”

Sam was being quite possibly the sweetest man in the world. It almost felt like a dream, one she didn’t want to wake up from. This was the man she knew and she loved for so long. Well, it was one part of him at least. She fell for all of him, even the ridiculous side of him. The one that would flirt endlessly and had some seriously cheesy pick up lines. The one that only thought about sex, which definitely had it moments. She even fell for the not so good side. He had his faults but she did too. They were imperfect. That was something she has learned to accept. 

He helps her slide out of the grey jacket she had on, “well you did ask me to come back here with you.” He chuckles as he points that out to her.

Diane rolls her eyes, “yes I know I did you goof. It just means a lot that you did when you could’ve gone right back to work” she replies and turns to face him now. 

Sam hangs up her jacket on the coat rack and turns to face her too. “Well, I told you when we first started really started spending time together again that I was here for you if you ever needed anything and I meant that.”

Diane smiles at that and feels her chest fill with warmth. She steps closer to him and takes his hand in hers. “Thank you so much for being here... not just now I mean all day today. I wouldn’t have been able to get through it without you.”

It wasn’t just a few hours that he spent with her. They had spent the entire afternoon and part of the night at the hospital. Diane insisted on staying by her mother’s side until she couldn’t any longer. She knew deep down that everything would be okay but after nearly losing her, Diane couldn’t help but worry all day. It was what she was best at. 

He nods and gives her hand a gentle squeeze, “don’t thank me, anytime you need me I’m just a phone call away” he assures. 

She gazes into his beautiful steel blue eyes for a moment. She could see that he was being sincere, that every word he said was true. Oh lord. Diane was falling in love with him all over again. She hadn’t realized it until now. Sure, she had loved him even throughout their separation but this was different. She felt like it was the first time she was falling for him. Was she ever in trouble now. There was now going back. 

Silence had filled the the room now. He was gazing right back at her. His heart was doing backflip after backflip. After two long years of being apart, here they were finally progressing. Sam knew that with everything in him, he loved her. Love didn’t even feel like a strong enough word for what he felt. He nearly felt silly for being this hung up on someone. He had never been like this before her. 

Diane is the first one to make the move, she throws her arms around his neck and crashes her lips on his. It doesn’t take long for the kiss to progress. Sam wraps his arms around Diane’s waist and slowly starts to move her from the foyer. 

She moves her hands up to his cheeks, one sliding up into his hair. Neither of them break away from each other as he guides her toward the living room. Slowly, they both manage to get on to her couch.

While the kissing continues, Sam starts to feel a nag at his heart. The logical, albeit small, side of his brain was starting to kick in. He couldn’t keep going and make love with her. Not now. She was incredibly vulnerable after the day she had, he didn’t feel right about it. 

Sam reluctantly pulls away, “wait...” he murmurs. He couldn’t let her go through with this, nor himself.

“What’s wrong?” Diane questions and begins to rub her thumb along his cheek. 

He looks down at her and lets out a sigh, “Well I cant believe me, of all people, is about to say this... but I can’t let you go through with this.”

Her eyebrows furrow at that “what do you mean? I thought we were both ready for this.” Now Diane was confused. She thought that he would completely be on board with making love. Hell, it was Sam, when did he ever turn down an opportunity for sex?

“It’s not that sweetheart... it’s just, well, today has been a lot of you. I know you’re vulnerable after your mother’s heart attack. I don’t want to be taking advantage of that... I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow and realize you made a stupid decision” Sam explains. 

Diane sticks her bottom lip out in a pout but not in a bad way. Just in awe of how incredibly sweet he was being. “I suppose I am very vulnerable after everything that’s happened today. Thank you for stopping things before we got too ahead of ourselves.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to make love with him but she wasn’t exactly thinking logically. She never could be spontaneous. Analyzing every detail to until she couldn’t any longer was her specialty.

Sam slides off the top of her and sits down next to her. “Well I am sorry for stopping, I hope I didn’t let you down.”

She shakes her head, “not at all. The only disappointing thing would be is if you didn’t stay here with me tonight.”

“You want me to stay?” he questions. 

“Well unless you’ve got a hot date at ten that you’ve not told me about” Diane teases.

He glances over at the clock and quickly gets up, “ah damn I forgot, I better get back to my place before I’m late.”

Diane watches as he goes around the couch and starts to head for the door. “Saaaaammm” she whines and gets up. 

Sam laughs and meets her halfway to him, wrapping his arms around her. She looks up at him with a fake stern look, “you’re the worst.”

He just smiles again and leans down, “I know” he murmurs and brings his lips to her for another kiss.   
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Sometime during the night, maybe around two in the morning, Diane finds herself wide awake. Today had been one hell of a rollercoaster for her and it seemed that sleep wasn’t much of an option.

She remembered falling asleep around eleven but that didn’t last very long. Her mind was alive with numerous thoughts. She had almost lost her mother and almost slept with Sam. What a day. 

Several times, she tries to go back to sleep but just ends up tossing and turning for another half hour. Diane throws her bedsheets aside and huffs, “this is useless.”

She then slides out of her bed and goes for the door. There seemed to be no way she was going to be sleeping tonight. Her mind wouldn’t shut off even just for a good nights sleep. 

Moments later Diane knocks on the door to the guest bedroom. It was where Sam was staying. Even though they acted like a couple and Diane felt like they were a couple, there were still things they hadn’t done. Only once had they slept in each other’s embrace but that wasn’t intentionally. They hadn’t crossed that line together yet. Well, until now it seemed.

Slowly, she pushes the door open and pokes her head in. “Sam...? Are you awake?” she whispers. That was a silly question, it was two in the morning so he had to be asleep. 

A groan comes from the bed, “well... I am now” he murmurs and reaches over to the lamp by his bedside to actually get a look at her. “Something wrong sweetheart?”

Diane steps into the room, “sorry for waking you... I um... I couldn’t sleep. I was wondering if you would... keep me company?” she felt silly for even asking him. It was not a good idea to wake him up in the dead of the night because she couldn’t sleep. 

Sam rubs his eyes and nods, “sure” he replies. He then scoots over in bed to make room for her next to him. 

Though he was only half awake at this point, Sam feels his chest fill with warmth as she crawls into bed with him. Getting to be the one who took care of her was one of the best feelings ever. 

Once she’s settled next to him he moves closer to her and puts an arm around her. Right away she moves on her side and rests her head on his chest. She makes sure her ear is right over his heart and lets out a sigh. The sound of his heart had always comforted her in a way. 

Only a few moments after getting settled in his embrace, her eyes fall closed and she finally drifts off into a deep sleep.   
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Sam opens the door to his home and right away slides off his jacket. It was about 7pm, he had come home early from Cheers. He was planning on going over to Diane’s in about an hour to pick up the kids and spend the rest of the night and tomorrow with them.

He takes his shoes off at the door too and makes his way toward his bedroom to get changed out of the clothes he had been wearing all day. 

Just as he had taken off his pants he hears the doorbell ring, “just a second!” he calls out.

Sam quickly pulls on another pair of pants and rushes out of his room. As soon as he reaches the door, he pulls it open and is met with the sight of his favorite person. “Hi sweetheart, I didn’t think you’d be coming by today.”

Diane gives him a small smile and steps in after he opens the door wider for her. “Where are the kids?” Sam questions, having to double check that they were alright. 

“Don’t worry, they’re with Lilith and they’re more than happy to be there” she assures. 

“You know... we should start paying her for how much she watches them” he jokes. 

She laughs, “we’ll have to look into that later.” Lilith did watch the kids whenever Diane really needed her to. There was never an issue, Lilith was her closest friend and loved both Elizabeth and Ernie as if they were her own. The two even referred to her as “auntie lilith”. Diane found that absolutely adorable. 

“So what brings you over here? Not that I’m not happy to see you” Sam inquires.

“I was doing some thinking today. Well, a lot of thinking actually, about last night. How you told me that you didn’t want me to do anything that I would regret.” 

She moves closer to him as she speaks, “you were right to stop us, I was more vulnerable than I realized. That being said...” Diane brings her hand up to his cheeks. She then looks up into his eyes, her own full of love, and continues speaking “after all of the thinking I realized that you’re what I want. You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

Sam was in slight shock as he put his arms around her and listened to her admit how she felt. He wasn’t expecting this from her so soon. Now his heart was basically pounding out of his chest. 

“Diane... I’m crazy about you. I’ve always been crazy about you and I’ll always be crazy about you” he replies and inches in closer to her. He scan her beautiful face and he stares at her lips for a moment before bringing his own down on hers. 

Her arms move around his neck and she lets out a little squeal when he suddenly lifts her up. She smiles and wraps her legs tightly around his waist. Sam then looks up at her, the kiss broken for now, “are you completely sure about this?”

Diane presses her hand against his cheek again and gives him a smile, “I’m all yours.”

There wasn’t a single doubt about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW. What a chapter!!! I love how it turned out and I hope you all enjoy it. This is a major turning point in their relationship and they’re one step closer to officially getting back together. But... will it be that easy?
> 
> Also, kudos and feedback are always welcome!


	7. Chapter 7

Sunlight creeps into Sam’s bedroom, just slightly peaking through the blinds. He was on his side with Diane right in front of him. He had one arm around her lower waist, keeping her close. His nose was almost completely buried in her hair from how close he was to her.

Sam open his eyes and begins to wake up, immediately greeted with the sweet scent of lavender coming from Diane’s hair. He hums a little and nuzzles his nose closer into her. “Well good morning sleepy head” she giggles. 

“Mm... morning sweetheart” he murmurs. He couldn’t believe that last night was actually real. The whole night was playing over and over in his head. It was different than any other time they had made love. Their love for one another was amplified more than it had ever been. Every single moment felt like a dream come true, even now as they laid cuddled close. He hoped if it was a dream that he’d never wake up from it. “Can we stay here all day?” 

Diane smiles at that, “I wish but unfortunately we have too many responsibilities to stay in all day.” Her hand comes over his and she absentmindedly begins to play with them. She wanted to wake up like this every morning. She hadn’t realized it until when she crept into his room unable to sleep after the incident with her mother. The feeling of waking up every morning with the one she loved more than anything holding her was indescribable. 

He lets out an exaggerated groan and sighs, “what if you don’t go into work and I don’t go into work? We can call Lilith and Frasier and ask them to watch the kids another day” Sam suggests.

She scoots forward a little and shifts in bed, turning to face him. A hand comes up to his cheek and she smiles, “as much as I would love that... my students have a paper to turn in today and I need to be there for it. Besides, Lilith might actually start charging if she has to watch the kids another day.”

Sam chuckles and moves a little closer to her, “We don’t need that to happen. I think I’ll go pick them up after school and take them out somewhere they love.”

“They’ll really love that,” she smiles. It had been a little while since Sam had seen the kids. He was supposed to take them the other night but with her mother being in the hospital it didn’t work out. Thankfully she had been released and now things would go back to normal. Well, maybe not completely. After last night Diane didn’t want to go a day without seeing Sam. They were getting much closer, so much so that Diane didn’t even want to live apart anymore. That was another conversation for another time.

Diane leans in and quickly kisses Sam on the lips before sitting up. She had to start getting ready for the day so she wouldn’t be late for work. “Where are you goiiiing?” she hears his whine coming from behind her as she slips out of bed. 

That makes her smile, he was being awfully needy this morning but in the most adorable way. It made her all mushy inside that he didn’t want to spend a second away from her. “I need a shower and if you want to spend more time with me before I have to leave then you better get up too Mr. Malone” she informs and starts to go toward his bathroom. 

Sam jumps out of bed, “hey you don’t have to ask me twice. Beautiful naked girl and a steamy shower? I’m in” he smirks.

“Is that all it takes? Attractive naked girl and steamy shower?” she inquires with a raised brow. 

“Well it helps if she has shoulder length golden blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, intelligence beyond her years, and a gorgeous smile. To a name just a few requirements” he smiles.

“Hmm, are you sure I’m qualified enough to take part in this shower with then?” Diane teases. 

“I don’t know... maybe I’ll have to find another girl” Sam shrugs in return. 

Diane rolls her eyes and takes his hand into hers, “you’re ridiculous. Come on, let’s get cleaned up so we’re both on time to our jobs.”  
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Diane breathes hard as Sam brings his lips down to her neck. “Sam...” she pants and tilts her head back against the shower wall. 

He had her lifted up against the wall, her legs wrapped around his torso and her arms around his neck. Their shower only lasted maybe ten minutes before they ended up here. However, as much as she wanted to continue on and savor this moment in it’s entirety, she couldn’t. “I have to get to the university soon...” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Sam’s lips were focused in on one area of her neck, gently sucking and nipping at it. He manages to earn a moan out of her and that only encourages him to carry on; making her almost forget that she needed to get ready for the day. Almost. “Sam... you know I would love to... carry on but I can’t.”

He finally answers this time, “aw come on sweetheart... I can be quick” he pleads. 

She giggles at that and pulls him off of her neck, both hands resting on either cheek “I think it’s best if we save it for another time.”

Sam gives her a pout, “can’t I at least keep kissing you? I’m so close to leaving another mark.”

Diane gasps and her hand shoots up to touch her neck, “Sam!” she scolds. “I told you last night that one on my neck was your limit!” 

He chuckles, “don’t worry sweetheart it’s not that bad.”

“If I can’t cover them up, I’m never ever letting you kiss me again” she warns.

“Yeah we’ll see how long you’ll last with that one sweetheart” Sam smirks.

Ten minutes later, Diane sighs as she looks in the bathroom mirror. Thankfully she had brought a bag with her last night to get ready for today. However she couldn’t get the hickeys he left on her neck quite covered up. “That’s it, no more neck kisses for you Mr. Malone” Diane grumbles. 

“Hey don’t joke about things like that” Sam protests as he gets ready beside her.

“I’m not kidding... these marks are a lot more prominent than you claimed” she sighs again and moves around him to grab a scarf from her bag. Was she ever glad that she brought a scarf with her, it was going to be a lifesaver. It was cold out too so that helped give her an excuse as to why she was wearing it. 

Sam watches as Diane adds the scarf to her look and put on the finishing touches. “See it’s not so bad, you look beautiful” he insists. 

She turns to him and teasingly glares at him. “Don’t try to make this better with compliments, I’m mad at you” she huffs and dramatically exits the room. 

“Aw come on sweetheart” Sam complains and goes out after her.He walks over to where she was standing and brings his arms around her waist. “What can I do to make this up to you hmm?” 

Diane pretends to think about it for a moment. She was having too much fun playing around like this. It was one of the things that made her feel like they were themselves again. They were back to being the couple they once were in a new and improved sense. 

Her eyes light up “oh I know just what you can do!” she exclaims and goes over to her bag. She pulls out a familiar scarf and turns to him with a smile, “you have to wear this for the day.”

“The scarf you knitted for me on for our first Christmas together?”

Diane nods, “I know you weren’t the biggest fan of it and since you left it at my place...” she replies while holding it out toward him. 

She had been playing around before but she was serious about this. Part of her was a little upset that he had left multiple marks when she had a job to be at. Then again another part of her actually liked that he left marks on her and not just ones on her neck. They were a reminder of how exceptional the previous night had been. Not to mention a reminder that she was his and he was hers. 

Sam takes the scarf and looks it up and down, “well if that’ll make you stop being mad at me and if it’ll mean I can keep leaving marks on you... then I’ll do it.”

Diane smiles, “a wise choice Mr. Malone. If you’re lucky, you might even get another chance at continuing our shower.”

He raises a brow and smirks, “I’ll be a good boy all day I promise.” Sam’s arms come back around her as he speaks, making sure to pull her close. 

“You better be or you’re not gonna like the consequences” she warns. 

Sam can’t help but chuckle and lean down, giving her a quick kiss. “Oh don’t worry, I wouldn’t jeopardize my chance at continuing our shower” he winks.  
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Sam steps in front of the door to Diane’s classroom. He glances in and smiles when he sees her teaching away. She was in her element and he adored seeing that. He knocks on the door and feels his stomach suddenly start to twist. Was it silly to interrupt her class? It probably was but he couldn’t stop thinking about her. 

Diane stops teaching when she hears the knock at the door, class was nearly over so she wondered who it could be. Maybe one of her superiors? “Carry on class, I’ll only be a moment” she says and walks over to the door. 

She opens it and is greeted with the sight of a bouquet of roses and Sam smiling wide. “Hi sweetheart, these are for you” he greets. 

Diane blushes, accepting the flowers and steps out of the classroom. “Hi darling, what are you doing here?” She dips her nose gently into the bouquet, humming as she takes in the sweet scent. 

“Well I couldn’t stop thinking about you so I thought I’d stop by to say hello. Besides, you ran out this morning before I could get the chance to ask you out on a date tonight” he beams. 

She raises a brow, “a date?” He wanted to take her on a date. Spend more time with just the two of them. Her heart was ready to burst, the roses, the surprise visit, and the suggestion of a date, all of it made her feel like a teenager in love. She was absolutely head over heels for him. 

“Yep, I was going to go pick up the kids from school in a little bit to take them out for a few hours. I was thinking of coming by around eight-ish if you’re okay with that” he smiles. 

“Hmm... well I’ll have to check my calendar” Diane teases with a smirk.

Sam smiles, “well I hope you can fit me in your very busy schedule.” He knew there was no way she was going to turn down the date.

“Mm I should be able to squeeze you in” she smiles and steps a little closer to him. She wanted to put her arms around him but the flowers were in the way. 

He leans in and presses a quick kiss to her lips. “Good then I’ll see you later tonight. Oh and dress comfortably.”

Diane raises a brow again, “you’re taking me out and you want me to dress comfortably? I’m not sure being comfortable goes with looking nice enough for a date.”

“I know you love to wear frilly outfits and whatnot but trust me sweetheart, when we get there you’ll be glad you’re dressed comfortably” he assures. 

Diane scrunches up her nose, “well if you insist. Thank you so much for coming by Sam, I should get back in there though class is about over” she explains. 

Sam nods, “I’ll see you tonight then.”  
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“Sammmyyy.... won’t you pleaseee give me a hint about where we’re goiiiing?” Diane whines and tugs at his arm. She was dying to know especially since he made her dress in a comfortable outfit. What did that mean? What kind of date was this?

Sam laughs at her dire need to know where they were going. “Sweetheart we’ll be there in ten minutes. Can’t we have a little mystery?” 

She sighs and pouts, “I guess.” Diane turns her head and looks out the window, ready to arrive already.

He gives her hand a reassuring squeeze then brings it up to his lips, giving a soft kiss. The wait for where he was taking her would be worth it in the end. She’d soon see that.

A lot of different ideas were going through her mind. What type of place would require her dressing in one of her cozy house dresses? She was stumped. 

Ten minutes seems stretch on for a whole year. At least that’s what it felt like to Diane. She was desperate to finally get to this destination. 

Sam finally pulls his car into a drive-in theater and buys a ticket for tonight’s movie. He then pulls into the very back and parks his car. “Well, here we are” Sam smiles as he turns to Diane. 

She looks around and a big smile wipes across her face. There was always a part of her that had wanted to go on a date at a drive-in. Even before she met Sam. Her mother never approved of such places because they were where a number of teens would end up getting pregnant. Not to mention, her mother looked down on places that didn’t fit her way of living. Diane wasn’t a teenager anymore, but she sure did feel as giddy as one. 

“Oh Sam this is wonderful!” she exclaims and turns back to him, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. 

Awhile back, Diane had mentioned to Sam that she always wanted to go on a date to a drive-in theater. How it always seemed so romantic to her as a teen. He had planned on bringing her to one sooner but life got in the way. Fortunately, he never forgot her desire to come to one and was finally making it happen. Seeing the look of pure joy on her face was absolutely worth taking off the night to bring her here. He was absolutely head over heels in love with her. 

“I’m glad you’re excited to be here” he smiles. 

Diane scoots over and throws her arms around him. “Excited is an understatement! Oh thank you thank you thank you for bringing me here!” she gushes and kisses his cheek over and over. 

Sam laughs, “you’re welcome sweetheart.”

After a couple more seconds Diane pulls away and lays her head his shoulder. She gets snuggled up close, “so how are our little ones?” she questions, sliding her hand into his. They had a couple minutes or so before the movie began so they had a little time for some chit chat.

“They definitely miss us, Elizabeth even insisted that I read her a bedtime story when I took them to Woody and Kelly’s.”

She sticks out her bottom lip in pout, “I feel bad for being away for a few days.”

Sam shakes his head, “don’t feel bad sweetheart I’m sure they’ll forgive us. Besides, we needed the alone time” he points out.

That was true, the alone time helped their relationship blossom. Without it they could’ve been stuck in the same stage for a long time. “I suppose you’re right but we should take them out tomorrow to the park or stay in and watch a movie. Something as a family” Diane suggests.

“You want to spend even more time with me?” he questions. It was a slight surprise, things were moving quicker than they had in the past few months. 

“Of course I do you goose or else I would most definitely not be here” she assures and squeezes his hand. 

Sam smiles, “okay then family day it is tomorrow.” He couldn’t wait to spend a day with her, Elizabeth, and Ernie tomorrow. It had been at least a week since they had done it last. 

“For now let’s focus on tonight... the movie is just about to begin” Diane murmurs. She planned to focus on the movie a least for a little while.   
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Diane runs her fingers through Sam’s soft locks as he pulls her closer to him. Their bodies were pressed against one another now. The plan to pay attention to the movie had completely failed. It had started off with teasing each other. Sam would press a kiss to her cheek and start to trail down toward her jaw and past to her neck. He’d then stop after nearly a minute of focusing near the spot that was already there. 

That led to her getting antsy, he’d pull away and leave her wanting more. This of course led to Diane teasing him right back. She’d run her hand up his inner thigh achingly slow to drive him mad. The two kept going back and forth for nearly five minutes before they gave in. They had immediately fallen into a rather steamy kiss. 

Diane scoots a little closer and shifts her position, she pushes him against the back of his seat and climbs on top of him. “What’re you-“ Sam begins. Before he can even get out the whole question he’s met with her lips against his again. She then pulls the lever on the side of his seat and lets it fall as far back as it could go. 

“Oh” Sam murmurs between the kiss, bringing his hands to edge of her dress, quickly pulling it up and off of her. God he was grateful that he pulled his car into the last row. 

His shirt was gone in a blink of an eye and Diane looks down at him with a smirk, “aren’t you glad we waited until now?” She questions as her hands begin to rub up and down along his chest.

His eyes travel up her now almost nude body. She had on a matching pink lacy bra and underwear set. She was a breathtaking sight, and after all the years they had been together he never once got tired of seeing her. Sam rubs his hand up and down along her sides and nods, “very very glad.” His hands eventually creep up to her back and unhook her bra without any difficulty. Sam helps Diane out of her bra and puts it off to the side. He looks over her body again, “absolutely heavenly.”

She smiles and slightly blushes, after all these years he still made her heart flutter. She then leans down and kisses him again, starting off slower this time letting the passion build up again.   
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Diane opens the door to her house and holds Sam’s hand in hers as she walks in. “I should probably get home, I’m sure I’ve overstayed my welcome the past few days” Sam observes.

“Sam... that’s not true” Diane objects. She turns to him and scrunches up her nose. It bothered her that he was thinking this way; maybe he wasn’t completely serious but still. The past few days she had spent with him were some of the best she had in a long time. Granted, the day she thought she’d lose her mother wasn’t exceptional but having him there really helped her get through it all. 

Her hand comes up to its regular place on his cheek, “I’ve cherished every second that you’ve been here. I promise if I wasn’t happy you would know. I want you to stay tonight” she insists. 

Sam nods, he didn’t know where the sudden worried thoughts came from. Their night together had been nearly perfect. They made love in his car and cuddled under a blanket he brought afterward; still not exactly paying attention to the rest of the movie. Neither had a clue what was going on but they didn’t care, they were so wrapped up in each other. 

The car ride home was good too, they held hands and enjoyed each other’s silence the whole way. Maybe that was part of it, sometimes the silence made his mind wander. He worried that they were in the so-called “honeymoon phase” even though they had loved each other for over ten years. He feared this would all come crumbling down again and they’d be back to square one—separated and maybe actually divorced this time. 

“What’s wrong?” Diane questions and snaps him back into the moment. He notices a look of concern on her face and shakes his head, “oh nothing” Sam assures. 

As much as he wanted to tell her how he was feeling, now wasn’t the time. It was getting later and later by the second and unraveling their past right now was not a good idea. 

She looks into his eyes for a moment, not fully believing that he was being truthful. Whatever it was she hoped he’d talk about it soon. “Okay” she says in a soft tone and gives him a gentle kiss. “Let’s go to bed” she whispers.

Diane pulls away and turns in the direction of the stairs, leading the way toward her room. Today had been near perfection; she was absolutely certain she hadn’t been this happy in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I hope you enjoy this chapter of pure fluff, I thought they deserved a pure fluff chapter. As always, kudos and feedback are always welcome :)


	8. Chapter 8

Diane steps back and squints her eyes, trying to make sure the banner being hung was perfectly center. “A little more to the left” she directs. The volunteers oblige, moving the large banner slightly left. “There! Perfect!” she smiles. This event was going to be unforgettable.

“Thank you so much for getting the banner up, lord knows I could never do such a thing” she says as the volunteers come down from their ladders. 

They were getting set up for a dinner and silent auction hosted by the College of Liberal Arts. It was a yearly event hosted as a way to raise money for the school. Every year Diane was a professor, she had taken part in getting the event set up. For the past two years she had been the event director and coordinator. It was one of the ways she distracted herself from her separation from Sam.

However that distraction wasn’t necessary this year. Though they hadn’t actually been together in a little over a week now, they were still going strong. They talked on the phone every single night until they fell asleep. Of course both would still bring the kids by to the other’s place, they didn’t have a lot of time to stay and spend time together. That didn’t stop either from staying for at least five to ten minutes so they could chat and make out. Mostly make out though. 

Surprisingly, not having time for each other in the last week wasn’t getting to Diane. Maybe it was because they still talked everyday and night. Both were still heavily invested in the relationship and it wasn’t anything like it had been. Diane wasn’t worried that he was losing interest in her, not in the slightest. 

As she’s beginning to walk over to the other side of the room, Diane is stopped by a familiar voice. One she grew to hate more and more each time she heard it. “Ah Diane... I was hoping I’d catch you.”

She stops in her tracks and pushes down all of the hatred she had. Now was not the time to lose her cool on him. She was the director of this event and if she blew up on someone then the position would be taken away without a doubt. 

Diane turns and is met by the sight of the one and only Sumner Sloan. The same man who dumped her at Cheers all those years ago. The one who tried to steal her back from Sam. He nearly succeeded twice. He was absolute scum, even lower than scum. 

“Hello Sumner, it’s nice seeing you here” she greets in a fake tone. He wouldn’t know the difference but it wasn’t as if he cared anyhow. 

“Can I spare a moment of your time?”

She nods, gripping the clipboard in her hands a little tighter. How long was this going to go on for? The interaction already felt like it had been a year long. 

“The rumor in the department is that you’re back with Sam, is this true?” Sumner questions.

Diane is taken back by this question. Was he serious? The audacity of this man to come up to her and talk to her not only about her personal life but about her relationship? Something that was absolutely no one’s business and especially not his. “Well... it’s not been made official yet but... yes I would say that we are back together. Why does that matter Sumner? You have no relevance in my life any longer” she implores. 

“Yes well, I just thought you’d like to be aware of the fact that just a few days prior I saw Sam out with another woman. She was around your height, long black curly hair, and pale skin. She-“ His words are cut off.

“I’m sorry Sumner but what does this have to do with me? Sam is allowed to have friends and be around other women. I’m not that territorial” Diane was confused. So Sam was around another woman? What did that matter to her?

“It has to do with you because as you claim, the two of you are an item again. Sam and this woman were very close to one another. Holding hands, flirting, giving one another kisses; as if they were a couple.”

Her heart sinks and all at once she feels her joyful mood begin to deteriorate. How could this be possible? Surely Sumner saw another couple. Diane pulls herself together before letting her brain jump to conclusions. “That couldn’t have been Sam. He may be a lot of things, but he is not a cheater” Diane insists. 

Sumner shrugs his shoulders, “I’m only telling you what I saw. I most certainly saw Sam.” He then steps away and begins to walk in the opposite direction.   
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Diane knocks three times on Sam’s door a few hours later. She wasn’t going to talk to him. She wasn’t even sure what she would say. A few thousand thoughts were racing through her mind all at once. That made her unable to focus on just one.

A couple of seconds later, Sam opens the door with a big smile. “Hi sweetheart” he steps forward and goes to move his arms around her, intending on greeting her with a kiss. 

“Don’t touch me” she fumes, moving her hands up to block him from trying. 

“What-“ he starts but she just pushes right past him and into the house. “Are Elizabeth and Ernie in their play room?” 

Sam closes the door and tries to approach Diane. He was confused, where was this hostility coming from? Had he done something? There wasn’t anything that he could recall. “Diane what’s wrong?”

She stops in her tracks and turns to him for a moment. “Don’t act like you don’t know. I can’t believe after everything we’ve been through that you’d decide to throw it all away. I really thought we had something going here. I thought we...” Diane trails off and shakes her head as her eyes fill with tears. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter, whatever we had here is over.”

Once again she turns away from him and starts down the hall. Leaving Sam standing in the living room utterly confused and hurt. 

Diane wipes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, holding herself together not to be emotional in front of the kids. “Elizabeth? Ernie?” she questions as she lightly knocks on the door of the toy room. If she was here any longer she was going to break down. Every single broken piece that had slowly been put back together again over the last four months would fall right apart again. 

The door swings open seconds later and Diane is met with a bright smiling Elizabeth. “Hi mommy!” she exclaims and throws her arms around Diane’s leg. “Mommy!” Ernie squeals from the other side of the room and runs over to her, crashing into her other leg. 

She laughs at that, feeling some of her pain being lifted. “Well hi my precious little cherubs. Did you have a good time with daddy?” 

They both nod, “Daddy helped me draw a picture today!” Elizabeth beams.

The small blonde, a mini version of Diane, walks over to her arts and crafts table. She grabs the piece of paper off it and brings it over to Diane, holding it up to her. “Daddy said it’s his favorite” she smiles. 

When she takes the picture into her hand and glances at it, her heart sinks further than it already had. It was a picture of stick figures in a big home— one that resembled her own. The one that she and Sam had bought together when they were engaged. It was where some of their happiest memories lived. In the picture were four stick figures, each of them were labeled. The smallest being Ernie and the tallest being Sam. All four of them were a family in the photo, even the stick figures of her and Sam were holding hands. Their daughter saw them as a couple. This killed Diane.

“Well mommy loves it very much sweetheart. In fact, why don’t we take it home and hang it up on the fridge?”

Elizabeth squeals, “yes! yes! yes!” at that suggestion. Having Diane’s approval meant everything to the little girl. 

Diane smiles in return and lets Elizabeth hold her drawing while she takes both of them out of the room. “I’ll be back in a few days to drop them off Sam. See you later” she says coldly and makes her way out of his house without even looking at him.  
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Diane sits on the couch at her home with the drawing Elizabeth had made with Sam. Her finger runs gently over the stick figures of both her and Sam. Tears were streaming down her cheeks while she did so. It had only been an hour since she ended things with him and she already missed him terribly. 

She missed him but her heart also ached at the idea of him with another woman. Another woman. She never would’ve imagined that Sam would cheat on her but it seemed their relationship was too good to be true. 

Happiness in the form of a romantic relationship just wasn’t in the cards for her. For them. As much as Diane wanted to hate him she just couldn’t. She still loved that damn bastard and hated herself for it. 

Several minutes later, a knock comes at the door. That breaks Diane’s focus on the drawing and places it on the coffee table in front of her. “Just a second!” she calls out. Quickly, she wipes away her tears and goes to the door. She opens the door and nearly slams the door in Sam’s face when she sees him standing there. 

“Go away Sam. I don’t want to see you” she grumbles. 

“Diane please... please talk to me. I don’t understand what I’ve done wrong. We’ve not seen each other in over a week and I was looking forward to finally being able to spend time with you today. I don’t understand what changed or what I did to make you so mad at me but... I’m sorry.”

The voice of logic and of reason settle in her mind, gnawing at her talk to him. Guilt starts to creep it’s way in as well; she felt bad for not even giving the slightest explanation as to why she was ending things. Not only that, Diane never even let him tell his side of the story Maybe it wasn’t what it seemed. 

She looks into his eyes and sees the pain in them. Oh no, she hated it when he was upset. Several different emotions were beginning to all melt together inside of her. “Let’s talk...” she manages to say. 

The two take a seat on her couch and turn to face each other. “What is it exactly that I did? I’ve missed you so much this past week and when you came today...” Sam trails off.

Diane looks down and clears her throat, unable to face him. If it was true she wouldn’t be able to look at him. “While I was setting up for the dinner and auction earlier today, Sumner stopped in. He told me that he saw you out with another woman and that you two were more than friendly. Holding hands, kissing each other on the cheek...”

She was on the verge of tears but was doing everything in her power to push them away. There was no way she was going to cry now. Maybe she was wrong about all of this, maybe he had some sort of explanation. 

“Well I was out the other day, Lilith and I went out” Sam begins to explain. 

“You cheated on me with my best friend?!” Diane suddenly bursts out, jumping to conclusions.

Sam shakes his head, “Sweetheart...” he reaches forward and takes hold of both of her hands. “I would never cheat on you. Do you remember when we were engaged and you gave me that one last day of freedom? Instead of sleeping with anyone I spent the night spying on you making sure you weren’t because I was so afraid of losing you to some random guy.”

She tilts her head back up, feeling relief go through her. A small smile comes to her face as she recalls that night. Only a few cars down was Diane in her own car watching Sam watch her. She could remember how she felt that night, not only how relieved she was but how sure of their relationship she was too. 

“Gosh Sam... I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have believed Sumner... I shouldn’t believe anything that man says. He’s lower than the scum of the Earth” Diane sighs, now beginning to feel horrible for accusing Sam of something so awful.

He shakes his head, “It’s okay... Sumner has this way with words and he knows how to get to you. This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. I can assure you that Lilith and I were most definitely not holding hands or kissing. You know the way she talks about Frasier.”

Diane nods and smiles, Lilith was deeply in love with Frasier. Being her best friend, it made Diane happy; she was happy for Frasier too that he had finally found his person. Even if he would never let go of what she did to him. “So why were you with Lilith then?”

“Well actually, I asked her to help me decide on a gift that I wanted to get for you..” Sam then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box. “I was planning on giving it to you tonight anyway.”

She sticks out her bottom lip in pout, not expecting to get anything from him. “Awe Sam...” Diane takes the box into her hand and open it to find a ring. Not just any ring, her own engagement ring. “My ring?” Diane questions in confusion. 

“Read the inside of it.”

Diane furrows her brows and turns the ring to find an engraving on the inside. In a small font the year 1982. 

“I know we got together in ‘83 but we met in ‘82 and that’s when everything changed” Sam explains.

The tears fight their way to the surface and begin to run down her face. She was speechless. This was probably the most heartfelt gift he had ever given to her. “Sam...” Diane was too full of emotions to say anything else. Her heart was overflowing with love.

Sam notices the tears and instantly he gets worried. “Oh no no don’t cry” he says and moves one hand up to her cheek to wipe them away. 

The blonde shakes her head, “they’re happy tears. This is the sweetest gift you have ever given to me... you don’t know how much it or you mean to me.”

“I have sort of an idea, you showed me more than once at the drive-in” he jokes. 

She gently pushes his chest with a smile on her face, “oh hush.”

Sam smiles and gently takes the ring from her fingers. “I do believe it’s my job to put this in its rightful place.”

Diane sits up a little more and wipes away her tears. She holds out her left hand and smiles as she watches him slide the ring onto her finger. It felt right, like the ring had never left her finger. It was back where it belonged. 

He takes hold of both of her hands again and looks back up at her. There wasn’t a single person in the world who made him feel like he did now. Sam couldn’t dream of someone making him as happy as Diane did. Gazing into her eyes told him the same went for her. Sam leans in and gives her a slow kiss, pulling away only seconds later. 

Diane presses her forehead against his and moves her left hand onto his cheek. “I love you, Sam” she whispers. 

“I love you too Diane” he whispers in return.


	9. Chapter 9

“I don’t know about this Carla” Sam sighs, combing through his hair one final time as he holds up a mirror. 

“Aw come on Sammy, this chick is a total babe. You’ll have a hell of a night with her I promise” she replies. 

It had been over a year since Sam had gone on a date. He hadn’t seen anyone since his split from Diane. It wasn’t something he ever wanted to do but Carla and the guys had pressured him into it. They kept insisting that he needed to find a hot babe and “go crazy”. That Diane had given him free range to see other women. 

Sam’s days as a bachelor ended when he and Diane became engaged. Time came and went which only made him more relieved that those days were over. He was finally settled down with the love of his life; something he never would’ve imagined happening. Then came along their beautiful children and the life of a bachelor seemed to be another life. 

Of course, his friends didn’t see it that way. They just assumed he was ready to hop right back on to that wagon. Sam wasn’t sure he would ever be able to. 

“Yeah Sammy, you wont regret going on this date” Norm adds.

Sam holds back a sigh, not wanting to argue with his friends. He’d just go on the date and get it over with as quickly as possible.

It was only a couple minutes later and a short brunette woman dressed in a tight black dress walks in and over to the bar. “Are you Sam?” 

He sets down the mirror and walks over, giving his charming smile. “That’s the name, are you Courtney?” 

“That’s me. Are you ready to head out?”

Sam nods and hops over the counter next to her. “I hope you like Italian” he says as he guides her out of the bar.   
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The dinner doesn’t go as well as everyone who forced Sam to go on the damn date expected. The whole thirty minutes they had been here was miserable for him, he was not interested in this woman at all. 

It wasn’t that she wasn’t beautiful but there was nothing to discuss. She was just like every other woman he has ever gone out with: an airhead with barley a personality. It was mean to think that way, Sam knew that but she wasn’t Diane. Not even in the slightest. 

No, Diane always kept him in his toes. She knew how to press his buttons right to the edge without pushing him over. She kept his ego in check and never took any of his bullshit. He wasn’t sure why she had done so for as long as she had. He never deserved her in the first place. Sam missed her every single day, but now they were nearing the two year mark of their separation. He wouldn’t be surprised if any day now someone delivers divorce papers.

As Sam finishes what he was saying, Courtney abruptly grabs her purse and places down her napkin “listen... I’m sorry but I don’t think this date should go on any longer. All you’ve done is blabber on about some Diane woman. I don’t know who she is, but whoever she is, she’s a very lucky woman.” Courtney then stands up and begins to walk away, leaving Sam sitting all alone.

Quickly, he pulls out his wallet and leaves what he thinks will cover the meal and a tip. Sam then stands and rushes out of the restaurant, into the chilly November night. 

It doesn’t take him long to find Courtney trying to flag down a cab. Sam walks up to her and stands only a few inches away, “listen, Courtney, I’m sorry for tonight. I should’ve been upfront about how I feel about this.” He let’s out a sigh and carries on, “my friends forced me to go on this date they set up. The truth is, I’ve been separated from my wife for almost two years now... and I’m still in love with her.”

Sam should’ve never gone out on this date. It was a mistake and he felt bad for treating Courtney like he had. She didn’t deserve it. No one did. He wasn’t sure why he let his friends coerce him into doing this. 

Courtney lets out a sigh too and turns to him, “I’m not a relationship expert or anything but one thing I do know is that you’re still hung up on this wife of yours after two years... she deserves to know.”

He goes quiet as he takes her words into consideration. Tell Diane he still loved her? That was something he wanted to do more than anything and he wanted to do it for so long. But he knew wasn’t going to be that simple; would she even want him back? What if she was in a relationship and he didn’t even know it? 

“I don’t know... I’m pretty sure she hates me.”

Courtney shrugs, “she might or she might feel the same way you do. You don’t know until you take a shot.”

Maybe she was right, maybe he needed to take his shot and try to win her back. If he didn’t tell her now when would he ever have the opportunity to tell her again? The chances were slim.

Sam nods, “you’re right I’ll do it, thank you.” He’s about to rush off to his car but he catches himself before doing so. “I’m sorry again for tonight Courtney. I hope you can forgive me.”

She shakes her head, “it’s fine but you better get going. Tell her that you love her before it’s too late.”

He thanks her one final time and begins to rush off to his car, which was thankfully parked just down the street. Sam couldn’t believe that he was going to tell Diane that he still loved her. Who knew what the news would bring.   
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Sam’s corvette slows down to a stop outside of the large home with a rose garden out front, just outside of the city. The only light on in the house was one he recognized. It was very dim but he knew it from the nights when he’d come home late and Diane was still awake waiting up on him. It was the light from her bedside lamp which meant she was wrapped up under her blankets with her nose in a book. 

He sits and stares up at their old bedroom window, various memories beginning to flood his mind. Their first night in the home together and how he felt like they were unbreakable. The moment when Diane came running out of their bathroom letting out squeals of joy and almost tackling him from her hug when she saw the two lines on her pregnancy test. Nothing was as thrilling as that moment, they had created a child out of their love. It was magical. So many memories flood him all at once that Sam begins to get somewhat choked up. However, he holds back any tears from falling. 

Sam looks toward the front door then let’s out a sigh. Though he had just relived happy memories, he didn’t feel like he could go up to the door. A large part of him knew that this confession of love was not going to go how he wanted. She wasn’t going to run into his arms and tell him the same. Nor would she tell him that everything was going to be okay between them. There was so much pain that they had yet to discuss. He wasn’t sure when that was ever going to happen, if ever. 

After a couple more seconds of staring at the front door Sam shifts his foot back onto the gas. Slowly, he pulls away from the place which held a mixture of joyful, sad, angry, and exciting memories. Today wasn’t the day to tell her how he felt.   
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Sam shifts gently in bed and breaks his eyes away from the ceiling as the memory from about a year ago fades away. He wasn’t sure why he was awake at this hour, it was five in the morning and he should be sleeping. Instead he was thinking about how hours earlier Diane had said she loved him.

It was their biggest step since they had first started spending more time together. Bigger than making love. This confirmed that everything they were doing wasn’t just some fling that wasn’t going to last. It also brought him back to that memory; he almost told her he loved her a year ago. How that could’ve changed things.

Sam glances down at the blonde haired woman who was fast asleep in his arms. Diane shifts too and nuzzles her face into his neck. He reaches down and slides her hand into his own, bringing it up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on it. He loved her more than she would ever know. 

He keeps hold of her hand closed his eyes again, hoping that sleep would pull him back in. Reliving that memory had made him feel confident that as a team, they were piecing their relationship back together. 

For the longest time he regretted not telling her how he felt that night. That it was one of his life’s greatest failures. Now, he was finally letting go of that guilt. He was relieved that he walked away that night. They had told each other how they felt tonight with no pressure. The love they shared was real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I know this was a relatively short chapter but I wanted to do another flashback to when they were separated. I hope you liked it! As always, kudos and feedback are always welcome :)


	10. Chapter 10

Diane walks into Cheers and a smile immediately comes to her face when she sees Sam working away. He doesn’t notice her presence but that’s okay, she wanted to surprise him anyway. 

It had been a few days since they had professed their love to one another and ever since that moment Diane felt like she as on cloud nine. Before then, she was definitely close to it but now she was floating high. Happy wasn’t even a good enough word to describe how she felt. 

Carefully, Diane steps behind the bar and tiptoes behind Sam. She hadn’t mentioned coming by the bar today, this would be a nice little surprise for him. 

She puts her finger up to her lips to silence the guys as they watch her cover Sam’s eyes with her hands. “It’s your favorite person in the woooorld.”

“Wow Woody your voice really has changed hasn’t it?” 

“Heeeey” Diane whines and moves her hands down from his eyes. 

Sam turns and wraps his arms around her waist, watching as she sticks out her bottom lip in pout. “I’m only kidding sweetheart. You know you’re my favorite person” he smiles and pulls her closer. 

She leans in, “I better be or you’re never gonna hear the end of it.”

Sam smiles then inches in closers and gives her a slow, short lived kiss on the lips. “So what brings you by today? I thought you’d be at BU” he questions and pulls away to continue cutting lemons and making drinks. 

Diane follows him as he moves down the bar, “well usually yes... but I thought I’d take the day off to see my fella.”

“Ah so you want something” he nods, beginning to cut up a new lemon. 

“Can’t I take a day off to see my love?” 

“Diane you’ve been so busy this past week, I’m surprised we’ve found time to spend together at all this week. Not that I’m complaining but it’s not like you to take off when you’ve got a lot on your plate” he points out. 

She sighs, damn him for knowing her so well. It was true, while she had taken the day off to see him it wasn’t just to spend time with him. That was just a bonus. The real reason why she came was to spend the day trying to convince him to go with her to the dinner and auction tonight. 

“Okay okay you’re right. I came to ask you to please please please go with me to the dinner and auction tonight. I really want you by my side tonight” Diane begs.

“The dinner and auction being hosted by your college? I don’t know Diane... a lot of your colleagues don’t exactly like me.”

“That’s not true, come on Sammy pleaaaseeee?” she pleads and tugs on his arm. Having him there was important to her. 

He sighs, “okay and say that I go with you... what am I getting out of it?” Sam stops what he’s doing and turns to her with a raised brow. 

Her arms wrap around his waist and she smiles, pulling him close. “If you do this for me then I’ll slip into that black nightie you adore” Diane hums. 

She knew he wasn’t going to turn that down, anytime she brought up the option of sex he rarely turned it down. 

Sam bites down on his bottom lip at the idea of her in that black nightie he loved. She always drove him nuts in that and he adored it. “Damn you know I won’t say no to that” he grumbles. 

“So you’ll go?” Diane perks up. 

“Alright, yes, I’ll go” he finally caves.

“Oh yippie!!” she squeals and jumps up and down. Diane then leans over and presses a bunch of kisses to Sam’s cheek, telling him over and over that she loved him.   
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Hours later, Diane comes down the stairs quickly as soon as she hears the doorbell ring. She opens the door to Sam on the other side, dressed in a light grey suit. In his hands was a bouquet of roses and he had a shining smile on his face. “Hi beautiful.”

Diane was dressed in a deep blue dress that hit just below her knees. On her chest laid the golden heart necklace Sam gave her; on her left hand laid her engagement and wedding rings. “Hi handsome” she blushes as he offers the roses. 

“Come in, I’ll get these in a vase and we can get on over to the university” she steps away to grab a vase, letting him walk in. 

She emerges from the kitchen a few moments later and smiles as Sam brings greets her with a kiss. “You look absolutely stunning” he hums. 

A smile comes to her lips as he rubs a hand along her back. “You already said that” Diane points out.

“No I called you beautiful but I didn’t say you were absolutely stunning. I can’t wait to see you in that nightie tonight” he smirks.

Diane pushes at his chest, “Sam!” she lightly scolds and can’t help but smile. 

She pulls away then slides her hand in his, leading him toward the door. “Let’s get to the BU or you’ll never see me in that nightie” she teases.   
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Diane holds on to Sam’s arm as they walk into the event hall where the dinner and silent auction was being held. “So you put all of this together?” he questions.

“Yep. Well, I had a lot of help but I directed and organized all of this” she nods and guides Sam over to their table that they’d be sharing with some of her colleagues. 

“Look at my girl... doing all of this and making it look effortless. I know your worked your butt off on this and I’m so proud” he praises.

It certainly hadn’t been easy, nor was it exactly what Diane originally planned but everything came together in the end. Hearing that Sam was proud meant more to her than any guest attending saying the same thing did. She always loved making him proud. “Thank you Sam, you don’t know how much it means to me” she smiles and allows him to pull out a chair for her at their table and push it in. 

He leans down and presses a kiss to her cheek and takes a seat next to her. “So, do you by chance know who we’re sitting with?”

She shakes her head, “that was one of the things I gave to one of my assistants to put together so I’m not entirely positive. Surely they’ll all be people I’m semi-close with.”

Diane had a few colleagues in mind who she talked with frequently. They’d talk about their lives and issues but were more work friends than anything. Regardless, she hoped one or two would be at their table so she could introduce Sam. The two in particular she had in mind knew of their separation and now reconciliation, she wanted to show that they were in fact doing better than in the past. 

It doesn’t take long for more people to begin to show up. Thankfully one of her closer colleagues arrives to the table and Diane stands, greeting her with a close hug. “Ingrid, I’m so elated that you’ll be sitting with us tonight. I’d like you to meet my husband, Sam.”

She turns to Sam who had stood up seconds after her to say hello to everyone she knew. Part of him was incredibly nervous to meet her work friends. He wasn’t sure what they knew and what they didn’t. Maybe in the beginning of their separation she spoke ill of him and that’s all they knew. Hopefully that wasn’t the case or this night would be a very long one. 

He gives a smile and sticks out his hand to shake, “Hi, I’m Sam Malone” he greets. 

Ingrid nods and shakes his hand, letting go seconds after. “So you’re the husband I’ve heard all about. It’s nice to finally meet you” she smiles. 

His stomach does a flip. So she had heard of him, meaning Diane spoke about him. It would be nice to hear that any other time but with this process of getting back together he wasn’t sure what this Ingrid person thought. She probably believed he was a terrible person and Diane was making a mistake. It was fair, he made a lot of mistakes he wasn’t proud of. Sam could only hope he’d change her mind and maybe anyone else’s if that was the case. 

“That’s me, hopefully you’ve heard mostly good things. It’s nice to meet you too.” Sam feels a smaller and softer hand in his again, one he knew quite well. Diane squeezes his hand, “oh don’t worry she’s heard about only some of the wonderful things you’ve done for me.”

Sam feels a little bit of relief go through him. Maybe he could make it through the night. It was hard not to be worried about what her colleagues thought of him though. He wasn’t all that intelligent nor was he of a high class. Diane knew that of course and he didn’t have to impress her. What worried him was embarrassing her. He always hated these events for that reason. It reminded him of the fact that Diane deserved a whole lot better than him. 

“Are you okay darling?” Diane’s voice close to his ear breaks his thoughts. He then feels her thumb rubbing against his hand. She must’ve noticed him lost in his thoughts. 

Sam nods, “yeah yeah... I’m fine don’t worry about me sweetheart.”

She knew he wasn’t telling the truth, she was basically a master at telling when he was pushing down how he felt. Still, they’d have to talk about it all later. Diane leans over and gently kisses his cheek whispering that she loves him. 

Nearly ten minutes later, almost the entire table was full. Diane had introduced Sam to everyone as her husband and he had made a good first impression on all of them. That was something at least. 

Just as the dinner is about to begin, one final person strolls up to the table. Diane doesn’t see him at first, since she was chatting away with a friend. However Sam does and the person is one he knew all too well, one he despised. The last person at their table was none other than Sumner Sloan. 

What an excruciatingly long night this was going to be. 

Once dinner comes to an end, Sam excuses himself. The night wasn’t completely horrible so far but he couldn’t stop staring daggers at Sumner. He could tell the scum was trying to get under his skin. Sumner was flirting with Diane and he couldn’t stand it a second longer.

It wasn’t that Diane was flirting back or even letting his words make her feel any different, he was just getting under Sam’s skin. 

He begins to walk across the room and over to where the tables for the silent auction were set up. He wasn’t being obvious about how he felt, so hopefully Diane wasn’t going to look too much into it. Sam didn’t want to cause a problem and make her night any less than perfect. 

“If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to join Sam in looking at all the auction items” Diane lies with a smile, standing up from the table and following after Sam.

She knew that Sam hadn’t stepped away to look at the auction. There was something that was clearly bothering him and she was going to pry it out of him no matter how long it took. 

Diane comes up next to him, sliding her hand into his. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” she questions.

“It’s nothing sweetheart, I told you that already” he points out. 

She sighs, “Sam... you stopped being good at hiding your feelings from me a long time ago. Besides, I can’t help you with whatever is bothering you if you don’t talk to me about it.”

That was still something they struggled with. Even after years of being together Sam still would sometimes guard how he felt. It wasn’t that she didn’t know something was wrong but there were times when she’d have to pull it out of him. Tonight was one of those times. 

“I don’t want to upset you by making it a big deal. Tonight is about you, not me” he says and shifts to look down at her. 

“The only thing that’s going to upset me is you not telling me what’s wrong. I want to be here for you, that’s part of being your wife.”

Sam glances around the room and watches as more people finish their dinner and either begin to chat more with others or come toward the auction tables. He looks back down at Diane and takes notice of her worried expression. Sighing, he finally agrees to talk with her, “alright... can we step out and find somewhere to chat?”

Diane nods and begins to guide Sam out of the event and down the hall to one of the classrooms she was teaching in this semester. It was a good thing that she had her keys with her. 

She opens the door, flips the lights on, then takes Sam over to her desk. Letting Sam take a seat in the chair, Diane makes herself comfortable on top of the desk just across from him. “What’s making you upset?”

Another sigh comes from him, “every time we go to one of these events... I feel out of place. I’m not some highly educated person with a well paying job. I didn’t go to a four year university and I sure as hell didn’t go to a graduate school. I don’t want to say anything stupid and embarrass you. Besides... I don’t want them to look at me and think that you made a terrible decision to be with me.”

Now he felt stupid for even letting these sort of thoughts get to him. They had been together nearly fifteen years, counting their off and on times, and he would’ve figured by now this feeling would have gone away. 

Her bottom lip sticks out in pout, “Sam...” she then reaches down for his hand and holds it tight. “You know I don’t expect you to be anything that you’re not.” She begins to rub her thumb gently along his hand as she speaks as a way of comforting him. 

“I know you’re not as highly educated as everyone out there... but that’s okay. I don’t care about that and I don’t care about what kind of job you have. I was a waitress for five years and I harbor no judgement toward you for being a bar owner. If I’m honest... I don’t care what they all think. Maybe my closer work friends but everyone else’s opinion doesn’t matter. I fell in love with you for all that you are and I still love you for the same reasons.”

Her heart weighed a little heavily, feeling bad for not realizing that Sam still felt this way. She knew where he was coming from though. Anytime they were around his baseball friends, which thankfully was a rarity, she felt like an idiot. Diane didn’t know the first thing about baseball and she didn’t care to. At the end of the day she knew he didn’t care if she didn’t like baseball or some of the other things he enjoyed. They loved each other and supported one another no matter what. 

“I’m sorry for acting like this, I don’t know what got into me. I’m really happy to be here with you tonight. Seeing you in your element and talking so passionately with your friends about what you love is something I adore. I’m sorry for letting my insecurities take over” Sam apologizes.

Diane scoots off the desk and places herself in his lap. She gives him a little smile and moves her hand to his cheek, “it’s okay, I understand what it’s like. As long as you never forget that I love you so much.”

Sam smiles, putting his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. He lean down slightly and glances down at her lips before looking back up into her eyes. “Don’t worry sweetheart, I won’t” he murmurs. 

She presses her lips against his, breaking the small distance left between them. They move their lips slow, Diane letting out a hum as she slides her arms around his neck. 

The kiss breaks after a little bit longer, though they both were reluctant to end it. “Oh there is one other thing that was getting to me” Sam mentions.

Diane rubs her hand along his bicep and looks back up him, “what’s that my love?” 

“Well Sumner being at our table tonight didn’t exactly put me in the best mood. Anytime I see him I want to deck him in the face for all the things he’s done to you” he grumbles.

“Ohh protective are we?” Diane teases and raises a brow.

Sam nods, “that’s right... no one especially him is going to get to you. They have to go through me first.”

She can’t help but smirk at that, “I have to say I find it sexy when you’re protective over me like that.”

She wasn’t sure why it was such a turn on but it was. Maybe it was the idea of having him in particular keeping watch over her, knowing she was his. Of course she believed she didn’t always need protecting as she was pretty capable of taking someone down if need be. As of now that thought was pushed off to the side. The idea of him being a protector was front and center, making her very turned on. 

Sam raises a brow and smirks in return, he wasn’t going to question it. “Oh do you?” His hands raise up to her back and begin to rub up and down along it.

She nods and leans in, kissing him hard and slow again. Her hands move to his jacket and push it off of him right away, not wasting any time. 

He breaks the kiss only after a couple seconds, “mm.. what about the black nightie?” 

Diane gives him a smile, “don’t worry you’ll still be rewarded with that later. Let’s just enjoy the moment” she murmurs and presses her lips back against his, falling back into a passionate kiss.   
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The rest of the night is better than either one of them could’ve expected. The college of liberal arts had managed to surpass their gold completely. Not to mention after their little venture together, Sam and Diane couldn’t keep their hands off of each other all night. Kisses, hand holding, Diane resting her head on Sam’s shoulder as they sat together, they were inseparable for the rest of the night.

Diane played into their clinginess especially at moments when she knew Sumner was looking in their direction. They’d make their kissing extra long and ridiculous. Sam played into it too and he loved making Sumner so annoyed at him. Diane knew that it was building a lot of envy in him and that honestly was worth every second of it.

She feels an arm wrap around her as she lays in bed. Off to the side of laid Sam’s clothes and her black nightie, both of which stayed on them for a short amount of time. Diane was resting on her side, staring at the wall as her thoughts consumed her. 

Sam presses a kiss to Diane’s bare shoulder which makes her turn toward him. She smiles and moves closer, sliding an arm around his upper torso, “thank you for coming with me tonight. It was better than I could’ve asked for.”

He smiles in return, “it was certainly better than I expected. Thank you for not giving up when I didn’t want to talk to bring up how I felt.”

“Well I’m not your wife for nothing” she teases. 

“That’s another thing” Sam acknowledges.

Diane raises a brow “what is?” 

“You referred to me as your husband all night and yourself as my wife. Is... is that what you want?” He questions.

She hadn’t exactly put any thought behind that. They were still married and had been the entirety of their separation. Technically, they had been husband and wife through all of this. Though that’s not what it felt like and they still hadn’t had a much needed conversation about their relationship. The confusion was understandable, in a way this felt like a fresh relationship. They were getting to know each other again in new ways. 

She nods, “it is... you’re still my husband no matter what we went through” Diane assures. “Plus, I’m not wearing the ring for no reason” she teases with a smile. 

Sam chuckles at that and smiles too, “okay okay I guess I deserve that jab. I figured I’d ask since... we haven’t discussed it.”

“Don’t worry darling... once we find the right time we’ll talk about everything.”

Sam nods and gives her a quick kiss, “goodnight Mrs. Malone” he smiles.

She can’t help but smile at that too, “goodnight Mr. Malone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I’m slowly but surely building up to some big things happening with these two. Stay tuned! Kudos and feedback are always welcome!


	11. Chapter 11

Ten months. That’s how long it had been since Sam and Diane had started spending more time together. Time had flown by in a blink of an eye. A year ago Diane had been unhappy and the only source of love and happiness that she had was her children. Now, here she was sitting next to the love of her life watching their children run around the park having the time of their lives. Almost a whole year later and Diane was the happiest she had been in a very long time. 

Sam was the same way. He couldn’t believe that time had gone by as fast as it did. A year ago he would’ve never thought they’d be sitting here together, his arm around her and their hands intertwined. Her head resting on their shoulder as they quietly enjoyed one another’s company while keeping an eye on Elizabeth and Ernie. Sam was even more in love with Diane than ever before. 

Their relationship had evolved and so had their love for each other. They weren’t at the final stage and probably never would be but for now, both were satisfied with where they were.

They spent every almost second together, Sam would drive to Boston University just to see her on her lunch break and Diane would drive to Cheers after she was done for the day. Some days they’d switch it up and she’d come see him for lunch then she’d come back later so they could go to one of their homes. Every night they were either at his home or hers. Sam would take weekends off to be with her and the kids. Most days he would leave Cheers early just to see them. They were finally in a good place.

Of course there were still a few things that stood in the way. For instance, they still didn’t live together even though they spent so much of their time together. Then there was the talk. The dreaded talk about their past and future that both of them were still putting off. Diane was planning to have a talk with him soon but she was waiting for the right moment. That was the other thing, no time felt like the right time. 

Elizabeth runs over to the two of them with a smile, “daddy! daddy! will you push Ernie and me on the swings??” she questions eagerly. 

Sam chuckles and gives his daughter a big smile, he could never say no to her “of course I will princess.”

Diane pulls herself off of Sam but hooks his chin with her finger and pulls him in for a sweet and short kiss. One that earns a very audible “ewwwww” from Elizabeth. She giggles as they pull away and she pushes at his chest, “okay now go push our children” she smiles. 

He slides off the park bench and takes hold of Elizabeth’s hand, letting the six year old guide him over to the swing set. 

Staying behind, Diane watches with a smile on her face as Sam goes between the swing set and pushes both children gently. Of course they didn’t realize that it wasn’t very hard, to them it felt like they were going sky high and both were squealing with excitement. 

Sam was smiling wide as he continued pushing them, there was no joy like the joy he felt of making his children happy. Hearing them laugh and squeal as they had probably the best time of their little lives was one of the greatest feelings. It filled him to the brim with love, they were without a doubt the best thing that had ever happened to him. Second to Diane of course because without her they wouldn’t be here. Without their love for one another, they wouldn’t be here. That was still a feeling that struck him as purely magical each time he felt it. The two before him squealing and giggling as he pushed them, were created out of a deep love he and Diane shared. That bond was unbreakable.

Diane was feeling the same way Sam was. How much those precious little cherubs meant to her was unbelievable. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for them. 

She as also experiencing strong emotions for Sam. Was she ever head over heels for him. She always had been of course but there were moments where it intensified in a way that she thought she was going to explode with love. Watching him with their kids now, spending time with them and making them so happy filled her with love.

Not just now but over the past ten months when they would spend time with not only each other but the kids. It reminded her of how truly magnificent he was as a father. She could’ve never asked for a better father for her children. 

As she continues watching Sam with Elizabeth and Ernie, Diane comes to a realization. There was no way in hell she wanted to spend another day without him by her side. They were married, and maybe for now still somewhat dysfunctional but she planned on changing that.   
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The rest of their day is just as wonderful as their time at the park. Sam and Diane had taken the kids out to dinner at a pizza place they both picked out. Both were in joyful moods, their time at the park making both moods sky high. 

Now they were slightly more calm but still just as clingy as they had been all day. There wasn’t a moment where they left the other’s side today. All day they held hands, cuddled here and there, and shared way too many kisses. All of which Ernie and Elizabeth would say “ewwww” to whenever they caught their parents kissing. 

Currently, Sam and Diane were cuddled on her couch together. She was sitting right next to him, facing toward the end of the couch while he faced the opposite direction. Her legs were resting across his lap and one of his hands was resting on her legs. They were quiet, the only sounds that could be heard was Diane’s pencil scribbling across the page of her notebook, Elizabeth and Ernie playing upstairs, and the very low volume of the baseball game Sam had on. 

It had been like this for the past half hour. Neither minded mostly silent room, simply enjoying one another’s company was enough. This was something they did frequently, Diane would write and Sam would have the television at a low volume. Sometimes Diane would read and Sam would read through the newspaper or a magazine. 

However the silence is suddenly broken when Sam slightly jumps and shouts, “score!!!!!” happily as he watches three players round the bases to the home plate. 

Diane squeals and drops her notebook on the floor from his sudden jolt. “Saaaammm” she whines, leaning down to pick it up off of the floor. 

“Aw sweetheart I’m sorry” he apologizes and sticks out his bottom lip in pout when she gets settled again. 

She looks over at him with his pouty face and her heart melts. Damn his cute face. “That’s no fair you’re using your cuteness to make me forgive you” she complains. 

“So that means it’s working then” Sam chuckles and gives that charming smile of his. 

Diane sets aside her notebook and pencils, then scoots across the couch and into Sam’s lap. She places both hands on his cheeks, leans down and smiles “you bet it is.”

She kisses him slow and hard, taking her time as she dragged her hands down from his cheeks and toward his chest. Her hands rub against there for a moment and her lips begin to move toward his neck. Pressing her lips against his neck she takes her time there too, making sure to get as much of a rise out of him as possible. 

Just as Sam is about to bring his hands to the edge of her house dress, Diane pulls away. She grabs hold of her notebook and pencils then smirks “that is why you don’t interrupt my writing” she says and begins to strut away. 

Diane knew she only had a couple of seconds before he was going to chase after her. So she starts quickening her pace out of the room when she sees him rise start to rise from the couch. 

“I’ll give you a five second head-start.”

With that Diane takes off and only moments later Sam dashes after her. “Stay away!!” she exclaims then laughs as he begins to chase her around the bottom half of the house. 

“Get your butt back here!” he shouts and nearly catches her as they round the corner toward the staircase.

“Never!” she exclaims and manages to run up the stairs rather quickly. 

Her speed doesn’t pay off because as soon as they reach just a few doors down Sam grabs a hold of her waist making her squeal louder than before. “Noooo!” she whines in defeat. 

Sam laughs as he puts her over his shoulder and carries Diane toward the bedroom. All the while she hits her fists against his back dramatically, demanding to be let down. 

As he’s walking there he notices Elizabeth and Ernie standing in the doorway of their toy room, confused as ever. “Is mommy okay?” Ernie asks in a concerned voice.

“Don’t worry buddy, mommy and daddy are just having some fun” Sam assures and after a little more walking, finally reaches the end of the hall where her room was. 

He opens the door to the room and brings Diane to the bed, finally letting her down. “Ugh you’re the worst” she groans and scrunches up her face at him. 

Sam laughs and gives her a quick kiss, “I love you too sweetheart.”

Diane rolls her eyes at that and brings her hands back to his cheeks, pulling him in for a much longer and deeper kiss. One she planned to make last this time. 

However before they can progress too far, a knock comes at their door. The knock is followed by a small voice “mommy? daddy?” Ernie questions. 

Sam pulls himself off of his wife and goes for the door, Diane following close behind. He opens the door to see Ernie standing with a look of worry. 

He crouches down to his level, “what’s wrong buddy?” 

“Is mommy okay?” the four year old brings up the same question again. 

Diane crouches down next to Sam, “mommy is okay my sweet little prince. Daddy would never ever hurt me” she assures. 

Ernie nods at her words, he was simply too young to realize that they were only playing around. “I love you mommy” he says. 

She pouts a little and opens her arms for a hug, “I love you too Ernie” she says in return and hugs him tight. 

Once they pull away, Sam turns to his son. “Daddy loves you too Ernie.” He opens his arms too and thankfully Ernie meets him in a big hug. 

“I love you too daddy.”

Diane then walks him back down to the toy room, kissing him on the head before returning to the bedroom. Sam was now sitting on the bed, “do you think we went a little too far? I feel bad for worrying him like that.”

“Oh babe don’t feel bad for that” she assures and steps over to the bed, sitting down next to him. Her hand comes up to his back and rubs it gently, “he’s only four... he just didn’t understand that we were messing around. Don’t let it get to you.”

Sam nods and turns to her, she was right. Ernie didn’t know any better and he was only looking out for his mother. It was sweet. “You know I would never hurt you right? Physically, I mean. I know I’ve done my fair share of hurting you emotionally...”

She looks into his eyes for a moment and nods, “I know you wouldn’t darling, I trust you.” Her gaze then shifts down and she lets it a slow sigh. “However... emotionally, yeah... there’s been a lot of hurt there” Diane admits.

He notices her demeanor change, “Diane...?”

“Yeah?” 

“I think it’s time for that long awaited talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After teasing it since the very beginning of the fic, Sam and Diane are finally gonna have that talk! Stay tuned for the next chapter and I really hope you guys enjoyed this one! As always, kudos and feedback are always welcome!


	12. Chapter 12

“Before we have the chat Sam, let’s go put the kids to bed” Diane diverts, trying to get out of having this talk now. She wasn’t sure if she was ready but then again she wasn’t sure when she ever would be. 

“Diane, sweetheart, the kids usually don’t go to sleep until eight and it’s only seven. Are you trying to avoid having this conversation?”

She looks back up from the spot on the comforter she had been staring at. “Well if I’m honest, yes.” Diane then shifts and turns directly toward him. “I’ve been avoiding this conversation since the minute we started getting close again. I was afraid of having it... I still am.”

His brows furrow, “this is unlike you.”

A sigh comes from her, “I know... I feel like we flipped in some ways. I was hesitating to even allow myself to open up to you again and that’s certainly not how it happened the first time around.”

“Well I’m glad that you let me in again... I don’t know what I would’ve done if we never got to this point. That’s why I want to have the conversation, it’s important for us” Sam points out and moves a little closer to her. 

Diane had shifted back to looking down at the comforter below her. “I was just afraid that these past... ten months have been nothing but a honeymoon phase. That the second we let face our past it’ll all be over and I’ll lose you again. We’ll go right back to where we were.”

Her heart aches as she admits to that. It was difficult to imagine them not being together, not after everything they’ve gone through. Who knew though? This conversation could make or break their relationship. Maybe they had been in a façade the entire time and it had to come to an end at some point. 

She didn’t want that, Sam was her whole world. He was her absolute everything and losing him again would crush her beyond belief. They had gone through so much not only in their marriage but while dating too. She could only hope that they’d make it through this and continue on. 

“Hey I’m not going anywhere, you’re stuck with me for a very very long time” Sam jokes to try and lighten the mood.

He hated to see her upset like this. Afraid that they would lose each other again and that would be it. There wasn’t a chance in hell that he was ever going to let that happen. She was his better half, his entire world and he was not about to let her go again. 

She looks back up at him again, taking his hand into her own, “okay... let’s talk.”

Sam takes in a deep breath, “I just want to start by saying that I’m sorry. I know that sorry isn’t even close to enough to making up for the things I put you through. I am very very sorry though. I don’t have any excuses for how I acted. I know that I treated you absolutely terribly and you deserve so much better than that.”

Diane sighs, “I’m not going to lie, toward the end of our relationship before the separation was probably the worst time of my life. I was still so in love with you and we fell apart. I was certainly no angel either though. I made many mistakes that I know were part of why we separated. You did hurt me, a lot. However... in two years I did a lot of growing and I forgave you. I know that at the end of the day it was never your intention to hurt me or hurt our relationship.”

He looks into her eyes and knows right away that she is telling the truth. Hearing that she forgave him for everything released probably the largest weight that had been weighing him down the past two years. Having this conversation was definitely the right decision. 

“I did a lot of growing myself. I’m determined to never let what happened between us happen ever again. You’re my world, as cheesy as that sounds. I know that fights are inevitable between us but I know with effort we can work through them... never let them escalate too far. I’ve also really been trying to get a handle on my feelings. I know it’s frustrating when I won’t talk to you and I promise I’m trying to fix that.”

Diane feels her heart melt when he says that she was his world. She had always hoped in the back of her mind that this was true but hearing it was a whole other experience. It only reassured her that what they had was real. 

She scoots closer, making the distance between them become much smaller. “You’ve shown me time and time again how much you’ve grown. I know you’ve come a long way since our separation and I’m proud of you. I’m proud of you for continuing to try to be more open with me. I know we can’t change the past and I think we’re better because of it. I forgave you awhile ago, but I’ll say it now: I forgive you for how you treated me and our relationship. You’re an improved man and that’s all I could ask for.”

Diane didn’t know how much those words meant to him. He waited a long time to hear that she was proud of him for growing into a better person. That she also forgave him for all the terrible things he did. Though he knew he could never truly make up for his mistakes, he was going to live the rest of his life trying to. 

“I guess the only other question I have is... what’s next?”

“Well...” she begins and takes hold of his arms, putting them around her waist so she could be held. Her hand then comes back to its regular place on his cheek, “I realized while we were at the park and you were pushing the kids in the swings that I don’t want to be apart from you anymore. We bought this house together to raise our family in... to grow old in. I want that, I want you.”

Sam leans in a little closer and hums, “only me?” 

Diane looks into his eyes and gives a knowing smile, “only you babe, only you.” Her lips meet his and her hand moves off his cheek and meets the other at his shirt. Her fingers work quick to unbutton the shirt entirely and she pushes it off his shoulders. 

“Mm wait wait” she murmurs and then pulls off of him. Quickly she goes to the door and closes it, making sure that it’s locked. There was no way she’d risk the kids walking in on them. 

When she comes back over to him she smiles down at him then gently pushes him by his shoulders down onto the bed. Diane then climbs on top of him and leans down close with a smirk, “now where were we?”

Sam looks up at her and shares the same smirk. He places his hands on her lower back, “I believe we were here” he murmurs and presses his lips against hers. However that doesn’t last long as his lips trail down to her neck, “and here...”

Meanwhile, he slides his hands down over her butt and takes hold of the hem of her house dress. He wastes absolutely no time pulling it off of her and tosses it aside. “God...” Sam groans when he realizes she hadn’t been wearing anything under the dress. 

He suddenly takes hold of her hips and rolls the two of them over in bed. Now with him on top, he leans back down and continues kissing her neck while his hand traces the curve of her thigh as it goes up. 

Diane drags her hands down his back, softly moaning as he nibbles and kisses on her neck. “mm... I’d say you’re terribly overdressed Mr. Malone” she hums. She knew he was desperate to get out of his jeans and boxers so her hands work quick to do just that. His jeans are gone quickly and with one swift motion so are his boxers.

She brings Sam off of her neck and guides his lips back to hers, kissing him hard and slow while her fingers trace along his back. 

Sam then reaches for her free hand and intertwines their fingers, “I love you” he murmurs as the kiss breaks for a quick moment.

“I love you too” she murmurs against him and squeezes his hand, letting their kiss continue on.  
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Diane steps out of Ernie’s bedroom carefully closing his door. It was about two hours later and now the kids were tucked into their beds fast asleep after she read them bedtime stories. She then tiptoes back down to the end of the hall and toward her bedroom. Moments later she walks in and quietly closes the door behind her. 

“Mm finally” Sam hums from the bed, still reminiscing about their lovely night together. 

She spins around and smiles, “did you miss me?”

Sam watches as Diane glides over toward the bed, “very much so.”

She slowly undoes the knot of her robe and begins to let it slide off of her but not completely. She watches as he bites down on his bottom lip, eagerly awaiting her to let the robe drop completely. 

Diane can’t help but smirk, letting the robe fall a little further but still not revealing her nude body underneath completely. Teasing Sam was one of her favorite things to do. 

He licks his lips as the desire for her begins to build back up inside of him. He knew she was going to drive him mad and he would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy every second of it. 

“How much did you miss me?” 

“So so much, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She smiles and finally lets the robe drop the rest of the way. Diane then climbs onto the bed and under the sheets, climbing right on top of him again. She leans in close, “it’s a good thing I missed you too then.”

Their lips meet again in the same passion as earlier. Neither one could get enough of each other tonight. That certainly wasn’t a bad thing, both were happier than they had ever been. Diane then takes hold of the sheets that were covering their lower halves and pulls them up over their heads. 

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It was another hour before the two were finally settled and all of their sexual energy was at a low. The room was quiet, peaceful even. 

Diane was resting on her back with a book in her hands and the lamp on her bedside table being the only light dimly lighting up the room. Sam was next to her, resting on his back as well. Letting his thoughts wander as he stared up at the ceiling. 

What a day it had been. Sam was incredibly relieved that he and Diane had finally had their long awaited talk. He wasn’t worried about their relationship anymore. He certainly wasn’t thinking too much about the past anymore either. He had let go of what happened a little while ago but the guilt of never apologizing to her had always hung over his head. Now that was finally gone, she had forgiven him. They were going to move forward and resume their life together again. 

In a way this all felt like a dream to him. Just as earlier in the day had, how he never imagined a year ago that he would be here. The love of his life by his side, wanting to be nothing but his. There was no way he was ever going to take having her in his life permanently for granted again. Sam finally understood just how lucky he was. 

With thirty minutes gone in a blink of an eye, Diane begins to turn toward Sam. “You know I was thinking...” she trails off when she glances away from her book and at him. He was fast asleep next to her already. A smile comes to Diane’s face at the sight of him, feeling her heart swell. She turns over, places the book on the bedside table then turns back to him. 

One hand comes up to his hair and she runs her fingers through it gently, bringing the same hand down to his face. He looked so peaceful. Diane then leans in and presses a kiss to his forehead. “I love you so much” she murmurs. 

With that, Diane quickly turns back one final time and switches the lamp off. While doing so she feels his arms come around her waist. He hadn’t completely drifted off when she said those words to him. Another smile comes to her face and she sinks back into bed one last time, letting herself completely relax into his embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! the long awaited talk between diane and sam about their past and future! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always, kudos and feedback are always welcome!
> 
> have a wonderful day/night ❤️


	13. Chapter 13

She flips another pancake in the pan and hums quietly to herself as she cooks away for her family. In the room adjacent was both of her children playing on the floor with their toys, happily giggling as they enjoyed their morning. 

Diane scrambles eggs in one pan and keeps an eye on the bacon sizzling away in the next. As she’s cooking she hears footsteps approaching behind her, “good morning beautiful” he hums in her ear as his arms come around her waist. 

“Well good morning my love. How does it feel to finally be settled in?”

It was two weeks later and after two weeks of nothing but moving Sam back home he was finally settled. They could finally start their lives together again. Now every morning they woke up next to each other. Diane found it to be her favorite part of the day. 

He leans down slightly and presses a kiss to her neck, “lovely absolutely lovely.”

She smiles at that and hums as his hands come to undo her robe. “Mm ah ah ah, our kids are one room over.” Her hands come down to his and she pulls them away, turning around to look up at him. “You” she pokes at his chest “are a very naughty boy” she says while continuing to poke his chest. 

Sam smirks sliding his arms back around her waist. “I thought you liked that about me hm?” He leans in and begins kissing her slow and hard, gently biting down on her bottom lip. He was doing the most he could to get her to melt in his arms. 

Diane closes her eyes, unable to help herself as her knees begin to become weak. She puts her arms around his neck and pulls him in closer. Sam then begins to lift her and carries her to the counter just off to the side of where she was cooking. His lips come off of her moments later and trail back down to her neck, lightly nibbling with the intention to leave a mark. 

Her hand shoots up to his hair and she runs her fingers through it and lets him continue on a little longer. It was hard to get control of herself again. Sam just had a way of getting her incredibly hot for him and stopping that feeling was difficult.

As Sam starts to undo her robe again, that’s when Diane’s mind finally snaps back into the moment. She pulls him off of her gently and gives him a smile, “nice try babe, but this is not happening now.”

He lets out a groan and pulls away, letting her hop off the counter to finish cooking breakfast before it burned.

“You know, if you help me set the table then maybe, just maybe, we can find a little bit of time before we go to Cheers” Diane offers. 

Sam jumps at the offer without giving it a second thought. He quickly goes to the cabinet and grabs the plates to begin setting the table. There wasn’t a chance he was going to pass up sex. He was Sam Malone after all.  
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The door to Cheers opens a few hours later and in steps Sam with Diane following right behind. Both were wearing the biggest smiles and felt as if nothing was going to crush this day. 

“Hello everyone!” Sam beams as he and Diane begin to walk toward the bar hand in hand.

“Hello all” she brings back that same giddy smile and squeezes Sam’s hand.

They were definitely in sort of an overly lovey mood today. There was no reason not to be, Sam was finally moved in to their home again and now everything had fallen into place. A new chapter of their story was being written. Diane had a strong feeling that it was going to be one of the best yet. Though a lot of their chapters were unforgettable. 

Some hellos are returned by their friends including Woody and Cliff. Norm greets them by name and asks Sam for a refill. It sure was good to be back here. The place that brought them together. 

Diane leans over and presses a kiss on Sam’s cheek as he’s refilling Norm’s beer. “I’m going to go freshen up. You can tell everyone the good news.”

He nods and smirks, “don’t miss me too much sweetheart.”

That just earns him an eye roll as she begins to walk out from the bar, “oh don’t worry babe I’ll be just fine.”

Ten minutes later Diane steps out of the bathroom and begins to approach the bar. However while she’s still in the hallway she stops off to the side of the telephone as she hears the conversation happening at the bar. 

“I don’t know about this Sammy” Norm says.

“Yeah for two years she made you miserable. What’s the point in being together again when it could happen again?” Carla adds. 

She expected to hear the gang celebrating Sam and Diane’s news. He had told them that he had officially moved back in with her, that they were finally a couple and no longer in a grey area of their relationship.

Instead, Diane was hearing doubts and comments of disappointment from their friends. 

“Guys we’ve been back together for awhile. Why bring this up now?” Sam questions.

“To be quite frank, Sam old man, we thought this was just some sort of phase. That you needed to get her out of her system one last time and you’d be over her” Frasier replies. 

She feels her heart break at that comment. Frasier really believed that? Lilith was one of her closest friends and knew everything her and Sam were going through. Surely Lilith would’ve mentioned something to Frasier. Instead here he was being an ass. 

“So that’s what you all think of us? That this was nothing but a phase? I’m just going to leave him and hurt him? I’m not going to stand for this” Diane says to everyone, stepping out of the hall. She doesn’t stay in place for long though, she walks past the bar and toward the door. 

Sam feels a pang in his chest as he watches Diane quickly walk past the bar. He quickly jumps over the bar and rushes over to her, “Diane.. wait wait” he stops her.

She turns and puts up a hand, “I really don’t want to talk, just know I’m not upset with you. I’ll see you later tonight.”

Diane doesn’t let Sam say anything, she turns to the door and walks out quickly. Sam had driven them here so she’d have to catch a cab. She needed to get as far away as she could.   
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Diane spends the next few hours with Lilith and the kids. Spending time with her closest friend and her children along with Frederick, Lilith’s son, made her feel better. It made her forget for awhile about what had happened at the bar. 

However now that she was home and trying to relax in the bathtub with a book, her mind continuously wanders back to the events of this morning.

She was reflecting on herself and overthinking everything. Maybe she was in fact this terrible person everyone had made her out to be. Making Sam so miserable for two years broke her heart. Maybe he was beginning to think the same as them, that he didn’t want to carry on with her if it meant risking getting hurt again. 

After their conversation two weeks ago, she fully believed that they weren’t in some phase either. Two weeks later and they were still the same but maybe slightly more tame. Not as lovey as they had been in the beginning. 

However, with Frasier’s words sticking in her mind maybe he was right. Were they blind to their situation? Maybe all it would take is one fight and they’d realize how none of this was ever meant to work out. 

A long sigh comes from Diane and she sets her book aside. Now her head was pounding from all of the thoughts trying to consume her. She needed Sam to be home soon or she was going to go mad. 

Though that doesn’t happen for another two hours. It was around nine now, Diane had read stories to both Ernie and Elizabeth and they were both out. Now it was just her, curled up under a blanket on the couch. Instead of being in their room, she was waiting up on Sam to finally arrive home. 

As the door creeks open, she pops her head up from where it was resting on the couch. She quickly faces the door and sees Sam sliding out of his Red Sox jacket, not yet noticing she was waiting for him. 

Getting up from the couch Diane approaches him, “hi...” she says in a soft tone.

She wanted to ask him how his day was and give him a warm hug along with a kiss. However due to the circumstances, she couldn’t. Diane could only imagine how he felt all day long. 

Sam turns once his jacket is hung up and gives her a worried look. “Hi sweetheart, can we talk?”

She nods and lets him lead the way to the living room, sitting down across from him. He turns, “I feel like we’ve been having a lot of heart to hearts lately. That’s okay... but I wish we didn’t have to have this one. Diane, you know I love you. Don’t listen to what those guys were saying.”

A sigh comes from her, “Sam... it’s not that simple. They’re your friends, your best friends. I consider them my friends too and even family. Not a single one of them except Woody and Lilith approve of our relationship. It makes me think we’re making the wrong choice...” 

“Sweetheart...” Sam starts and takes hold of her hands, “we’re not making the wrong choice. Being without each other is absolute hell. I know I’m crazy about you and I don’t care what they all think.”

Diane feels a clench at her heart, feeling bad for having doubts. Not to mention for letting their words get to her. “I’m sorry” she sighs. 

He squeezes her hands, leans in, and presses a kiss to her forehead, “it’s okay. Besides... I might have told them off a little while after you left. I think they get the message about how I feel and I think they’ll come around eventually.”

She smiles a little, “you stood up for me? For us?” 

Sam nods, “well of course I did. You’re my girl and I’ve supported all of their dreams, even the ridiculous ones. They need to start supporting mine and being happy for me, for us, as long as we’re happy.”

“Oh, Sam...” Diane smiles, feeling her chest fill with warmth, “I love you so much.”

The talk probably was one that didn’t need to be had but if it reassured Diane that they were alright, Sam was fine with that. It was scary to think of what could happen to them but he believed in them and he knew deep down, past all of her worries and her tendency to overthink, she did too. 

Sam smiles in return, “I love you too sweetheart.”

She scoots closer to him and brings him in for a gentle kiss, letting it last a little longer than just a peck. 

When she pulls her lips away, she moves herself even closer to him. “Will you hold me?” 

Sam looks into her soft, loving eyes and gives her a nod, “of course I will sweetheart.” He then pulls her by the waist into his arms completely and covers the two of them with a blanket.

She rests on her side, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. Diane lets out a soft sigh as her fingers begin to trace along his chest. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that all would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Honestly I thought it was necessary to address the fact that the gang was never supportive of diane and sam. It’s one of many things that frustrate me in regard to them. Anywho, as you already know kudos and feedback are always welcome! Thank you for reading :)


	14. Chapter 14

Rolling over in bed, Diane reaches across for her husband with the intention of snuggling up close to him. She wanted to enjoy their last hour in bed together before facing the world again. 

However as Diane’s hand reaches out for him, it hits the bed instead of his side. Confused, she begins to feel around the space next to her and finds that it is completely empty. “Sam?” she questions. Perhaps he had stepped into their connected bathroom.

When no answer comes, Diane sits up in bed and rubs her eyes. Where in the world could he have gone? Certainly he would’ve mentioned it to her if he had somewhere to be this morning. She looks around the room and sighs when she doesn’t see him.

Before she can even get out of bed though, Sam opens the door with a tray in his hands. “Good morning beautiful” he says with a smile. 

Diane raises a brow as he walks over, the tray in his hand which was filled with a plate of food and roses. “What’s all this?”

He gives her a smile and sets the tray in her lap, “happy one year of being back together.”

She looks up at him and pouts, this was so sweet of him. Sam hadn’t always been much of cook so going to all this trouble for her meant so much. “Sam... this is so kind of you. Thank you so much.”

He walks around to the other side of the bed and slides back in with her. He scoots in close, putting one arm around her as she begins to eat the pancakes and eggs. 

“Mm... this is delicious. When did you learn how to cook?” 

Sam chuckles, “well eating out everyday wasn’t exactly a good plan while I was on my own so I taught myself. You like?”

She nods then leans back a little, pressing a kiss to his cheek “I love.”

Minutes later, Diane finishes the breakfast and takes hold of the roses, letting the sweet scent fill her nostrils. What a wonderful way to begin her morning. 

“So, I took the day off from work, the kids are with Kelly, and I called BU to let them know you wouldn’t be in today. That just leaves me and you all day today, celebrating our little milestone” Sam says as he watches her admire the roses. 

Diane places aside the tray and puts the roses with them for now too. “Mm it seems like you’ve done some planning. I have to say I’m impressed, what’s your plan for the day?” She questions as she shifts in bed to look up at him. 

“Well... I thought we’d go on a picnic for lunch, then maybe a walk in the park, finally I have a big surprise for you after dinner.”

“A surprise?” Diane questions. “Sam I told you that you don’t have to do anything special for today. We’ve been married for so long... I don’t need anything but you.”

Sam smiles and gives her a quick peck on the lips, “you might feel a little different once you find out what it is.”

That makes her begin to question what he could possibly be surprising her with. Maybe a gift that she would never expect? Then again he would probably never top getting her engagement ring engraved with the year they met. That was something she held near and dear to her heart. 

She squints, “well maybe but it has to be a pretty big surprise for that to happen.”

“Then you’ll be happy to know that it is a big surprise” Sam smiles and gently taps the tip of her nose. 

A big surprise? She could only imagine what it could be. “Sam Malone what in the world do you have up your sleeve?” 

He chuckles, “you’ll find out soon sweetheart, don’t worry.”  
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After their extended morning spent mostly in bed and in the shower, Diane and Sam were now on their way to the park for a picnic he had planned. 

Diane was eager to get there and see what all he had packed for them. She felt somewhat bad for not planning anything for today, usually she would but with the past week being so busy she never found the time. The one thing she had remembered and made sure to get ahead of time was his gift. 

It wasn’t like today was their wedding anniversary, that wasn’t for a few more months. However today was still a day to celebrate. A whole year of being back together and stronger than ever. Diane was proud of them. 

Once at the park, she helps him lay down the blanket in the grass just below a tree. They were perfectly in the shade and completely by themselves, it was perfect. 

“You know, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a picnic” she points out as she takes a seat down on the blanket across from him.

Sam gets seated as well and opens the picnic basket, “has it?” he questions as he pulls out two champagne glasses and a bottle of champagne along with water for him of course.

“The last time we went on a picnic was when we were dating but that was very early on in our relationship.” Diane didn’t expect him to remember, it probably wasn’t of any importance to him but it was to her. All of their dates had some importance to her. 

Then again that was just Diane being Diane, always remembering the little details. Sam wasn’t the type to hang on to little details like she was. That was fine, at least one of them did. 

“Oh was that when we sat here all night talking about life? Didn’t we sit under this tree too? I remember that like it was yesterday” Sam recalls. He then pulls out two sandwiches for them and napkins, setting those off to the side for now as he opens the champagne. 

Diane smiles as she watches him fill a glass for her, “I can’t believe you remember that.”

He hands over the glass and fills his own with water. “I remember it because it was the first time we had one of those really long talks about nothing and everything. I mean we had a few before we got together but I learned a lot about you that night. I think that’s when I realized that being in a relationship with you was gonna be something special.”

Another smile comes across her face, that night did feel like it was yesterday. They really opened up and talked and talked for hours on end, not caring about anything else. In the beginning Sam wasn’t one for heart to hearts, that was just a lucky moment for her. It was a good thing they did it too because now here he was, actually willing to have said heart to hearts. Though she knew they weren’t his absolute favorite part of their relationship, at least he no longer complained about them. 

Silence fills the air around them for a moment as both look at each other lovingly. Both realizing how far they had come. 

Sam raises his glass, “to us.”

She smiles again and clinks her glass against his, “to us. may we have many more happy years together.”  
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Diane holds on to Sam’s arm as they walk through the park together. Her head was resting on his shoulder as they quietly enjoy one another’s company. She smiles to herself as she remembers the day they got together. The stroll they took through this same park after leaving Cheers. How Sam had thoughtfully picked flowers for her, trying his best to impress her. Only for her to have to pay a fine for what he had done. It was a very sweet gesture despite the fine.

The time they had spent together after the stroll in the park was unforgettable. Of course it took a fight to get through first, the early stages of their relationship had too much of that. However when things were finally resolved and Diane had made the move on him, the night was magical.

They didn’t just have sex that night, no, they made love. Even if they hadn’t told each other they loved each other yet, Diane was certain they had made love. There wasn’t a single man who ever made her feel the way she did that night. In fact there wasn’t any man that made her feel the way Sam did when they had sex. Not even Frasier, whom she believed she loved. 

Diane looks up and across the street at her old apartment building as they continue walking. How long ago that night felt and yet it was a memory she could never forget. 

“Whatcha thinking about?” Sam questions as they begin to trek back toward his car. 

“Oh nothing, just how much I love you.”

He smiles at that and places a kiss on her hand. “How much do you love me? More than books?” 

“I don’t think you want me to answer that” Diane teases. 

“Aw come on...” Sam whines. 

She lets out a giggle and leans up a little, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. “Don’t you worry your pretty little face, I do love you more than books.... most of the time.”

“Most of the time?” 

“Okay okay all of the time. I love you more than books all of the time” she replies and kisses him again. 

“Well you better or you won’t be getting that surprise” Sam teases. 

She gets somewhat nervous but of course he was only messing around. “Nooo Sammyyy pleaseee. I love you more than books I swear.”

Diane stops and turns toward him, sticking her bottom lip out in pout. “Please don’t take my surprise away” she begs. 

“Only if you can prove to me that you love me. Maybe then I’ll consider letting you have the surprise” Sam smirks. 

She takes a couples steps closer to him and brings one hand to the back of his neck, guiding him in for a deep kiss. His arms slide around her waist and he only pulls her in closer, letting out a hum as the kiss carries on. 

As many of their kisses usually did, this one was heating up rather quickly. However that doesn’t last long, Diane abruptly pulls away and wipes the smeared lip gloss off her chin. 

“Is that proof enough?” She smirks and swiftly turns on one heel, walking ahead of him now to his car. 

Sam stands for a moment in slight shock. It wasn’t that she hadn’t kissed him like that before but he certainly hadn’t been expecting it. 

When they finally get settled in the car and he begins to drive out of the park, Sam slides his hand into hers. “Don’t worry about your surprise sweetheart, it’s not going anywhere.”

Diane smiles and nods, “oh I know darling.” 

She was well aware of the fact that she had him wrapped around her little finger. However she only used that power for good things and nothing else. Sometimes she’d convince him into things but nothing awful. It didn’t take much for her to get him to agree to go to an art show with her. A loving look, a long passionate kiss, and usually a promise of sex. All of that and he was willing to do just a about anything with her.

It was something she wouldn’t do if she didn’t genuinely love him. Deep down he knew that it didn’t take much to make him give in and that was fine, he loved her just the same. It honestly doesn’t take much to convince Diane either but he definitely did have to go a little further for her. Sweet gentle kisses, reminders that he loved her, and his puppy dog eyes were usually enough though. They were both willing to do just about anything for the other as long as they were happy.

“You know I have to say... I like it when you take control like that” Sam admits as he drives down a back road toward their home. 

Diane turns her attention away from watching the world outside as they went by. A small smirk comes across her face, “oh you do?”

He nods as he turns down the road that would take them all the way to their house. They weren’t far now. “I do. In fact, it’s kind of a turn on.”

She scoots closer to him, having already unbuckled and places a hand on his leg. “Well then you better drive faster and get us home.”

Sam steps on the gas a little and feels his breath hitch as her hand slowly creeps up his inner thigh. At the same time her lips come down to his neck and she wastes no time there, kissing and sucking gently. 

It takes only five minutes to finally arrive back home and as soon as Sam turns off the car, they both rush inside. 

They stumble their way in though because the second the door was open, their lips were back together and moving in unison. Sam kicks the door shut and the second it’s closed, Diane pushes him up against it. 

Her hands fumble as they work to get his shirt off of him. However it finally comes off and nearly every article of clothing except his boxers come off seconds after. 

He had gotten rid of everything but her bra and panties as well. Before she can even think of grabbing the waistband of his boxers, Sam lifts her up off the ground. 

Instinctively, her legs wrap around his waist as he begins to carry her from the foyer. Their kiss breaks again and stays that way as she drags her lips down to his neck, going back to the same spot she had been at in the car. 

Sam brings her to the first place he could think of, the couch. He lays her down and slides right on top of her, giving her the ability to finally pull his boxers down. 

The couch certainly wasn’t Diane’s first choice but she didn’t even have time to care or complain. There wasn’t many times she was spontaneous but as of now, she was going to live in the moment.   
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“Sammy can I pleaseee take my blindfold off now?” Diane questions, gripping his hand tightly as he leads her inside of a building.

It was hours later, their anniversary dinner had been a success. Diane had given Sam his gift at dinner. It was a photo book full of polaroids from the beginning of their relationship up until now. It included ones of the two of them and ones of just her. A few of her in particular that were just for his eyes. 

“Just a couple seconds longer sweetheart, okay?” 

Diane lets out a groan in response. After they had left the restaurant about halfway through the drive he made her put on the blindfold so that it wouldn’t ruin his big surprise. It wasn’t that she minded it but now that they were out of the car and at what she assumed to be their final destination, she was desperate to know. 

“You better have brought me to a spa considering all of the time we spent on the couch this afternoon. I’m in desperate need of a relaxing couple of hours.”

Diane was sore all over from their spontaneous near two hours they spent on the couch. Being on semi-hard surface like that for so long was definitely catching up to her. 

Sam chuckles at that, “don’t worry sweetheart I’ll give you a massage later. For now, I think it’s best you take off your blindfold.”

She does as she’s told and unties the blindfold, holding it in one hand as her eyes adjust to the room. Diane looks around for a moment and quickly hits her that they were standing in the Boston Logan International Airport. She turns and looks up at Sam, confused “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but... why are we at the airport?”

There was no way that he planned a trip. Was there? No maybe it was something else. Maybe they were flying somewhere for the night and they’d be back tomorrow. 

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two boarding passes, “happy one year of being back together” Sam says with a smile as he hands them over. 

Diane looks down at the tickets, reading the destination. Bora Bora. Was she seeing that right? Bora Bora? One of Earth’s most beautiful destinations? There was no way, it was too expensive to even consider going there. Plus she wasn’t prepared— her bags weren’t packed, she didn’t have an itinerary, she hadn’t researched the island enough to know what they could even do. 

“Sam are you crazy?” 

“Only crazy about you” he smiles as she looks back up at him.

“We can’t just up and leave the country like this. I’m not ready. My bags aren’t packed, we’ve not asked anyone to watch the kids, I’ve not taken the proper amount of days off of work, who will take care of the bar? This is crazy, Sam.”

He steps forward and takes her free hand, “Your bags are packed” Sam gestures at their feet and surely enough they had multiple bags packed and ready to go. “I talked to Lilith and Frasier along with Woody and Kelly and they’re more than happy to trade the kids off for a week. I called BU and you have a lot of vacation days left to use so, I told them you wouldn’t be in for a week. As for the bar, Carla and Woody are more than capable of taking care of it. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

Diane stares at him for a moment. He had planned all of this, all of it for them. She couldn’t believe it. Still, she was unsure and worried as she tended to be. “I-I don’t know Sam.”

Sam steps in closer and looks into her eyes, his own filled with nothing but love for her. “Do you trust me?”

Her hand moves from his and up to his cheek, “of course I trust you.”

He gives her that charming smile of his, “then let’s get away for a week. You and me in a private hut on the beach.”

She takes a moment to consider then nods, “okay... let’s do it.”

“Really?” he questions, wanting to be sure that she was sure about this. 

Diane nods with a smile this time, “really, let’s go to bora bora.”

Sam smiles wide and pulls Diane in for a kiss, bringing both of his arms around her waist. Of course he wanted to make it last longer but since they were in public it only lasts a few seconds. 

When he pulls away, he takes her hand again along with their bags and within ten minutes they’re through airport security and walking toward their gate. 

The two sit together at the gate holding hands, sharing kisses, and quiet conversations as they wait for their boarding time. 

It was only fifteen to twenty minutes before a voice on the intercom announced, “flight 750 to Bora Bora is now boarding. Flight 750 to Bora Bora is now boarding.”

Sam stands as slides his carry on over his shoulder and watches Diane do the same. His hand then extends to her and she takes it with a smile, “you ready?” he asks.

She gives him a nod, “as I’ll ever be.”

Diane holds tightly on to Sam’s hand as they board the plane. She takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. This was the second time today that she had been spontaneous. It was scary the first time but she was very happy that she let herself live in the moment. 

Now here she was doing it again, it was terrifying. Her stomach was twisting and turning and her heart felt like it was going to pound out of chest. However as absolutely terrified she was of what this trip was going to bring, she was ready for it. With Sam by her side there wasn’t anything she couldn’t get through. 

There wasn’t anything that they couldn’t get through together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as you know, kudos and feedback are always welcome and appreciated. Thank you so much for reading <3


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small note: the song used in this is Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis. I left out some lyrics so it would fit the scene. You don’t have to listen to it to understand the scene but I definitely recommend listening to it!
> 
> Enjoy!

Epilogue 

Three Years Later 

June 5th, 2000 was the date. The day had been a beautiful one. One in which Diane had spent with her children while Sam tended at Cheers. They of course spent a good hour or two with him for lunch because neither Diane nor Sam could go all day without seeing the other anymore. She was glad he was going to be home in a few hours because she couldn’t bear being away from him any longer.

As much as she absolutely adored their now three children, Diane was desperate to have another adult around. The past week he had put in a few extra hours due to Woody being sick and needing to make sure they were still financially stable. That was more than okay with her but now she was dying to spend time just with him. 

Not too many things had changed in three years but there were some new additions here and there. A month after their unforgettable week long trip spent in Bora Bora, Diane had come down with what she thought was the flu. As it turned out though, she was pregnant. They hadn’t exactly planned on having another child at that moment but it was something they had always wanted. At least two or more children. So finding out that they were going to be having another was exhilarating.

Nine months later and little Jane was born. She was the absolute most precious baby either one of them had laid eyes on. Three years later and she looked like an exact combination of both of them. While Elizabeth looked like the spitting image of Diane more and more each day and Ernie just like Sam everyday, Jane looked like both. She had Diane’s facial features but Sam’s hair color. Her eyes were the same color as mother’s but she had her father’s smile. Somehow she had become the perfect mix of them both. 

As for their other two children, Elizabeth was now ten which meant this fall she was taking the big step into fifth grade. Everyday she not only looked but also acted like Diane. She was essentially just a miniature version of her mother. Each time Diane saw herself in her daughter it made her heart melt.Sam’s too, he adored that Elizabeth wanted to be just like Diane when she grew up. It was one of the cutest things. 

Ernie on the other hand was now eight, he was getting closer to fifth grade but would be going into third grade in the fall. Similarly to his sister, Ernie looked and acted exactly like Sam. He loved going to baseball games with Sam and now was learning how to play the sport whenever they had time from Sam. While Ernie was almost exactly like Sam, he wasn’t as much of a ladies man as his father. Then again, only being eight the thought of dating was out of the picture for awhile longer. Sam was somewhat scared of how much his son was like him but he knew that Ernie would take a different path than him. 

As for Diane and Sam themselves, separately and as a couple, both were as happy and in love with on another as ever. 

Diane was still a professor at Boston University, teaching a couple days a week. She now had four books published, all of which had done and were still doing extremely well in sales. Everything about her was mostly the same except physically. Her stomach was slowly starting to show a bump. She was pregnant with their fourth and final child. She wasn’t very far along but she was already so excited to bring this ray of sunshine into their lovely little family. 

As for Sam, he was still tending the bar but usually let Woody be in charge of it. He tried his best to be home most days when he knew Diane would be. If not that, he would try to be home as early as possible. It was part of making sure their relationship stayed strong. That and he didn’t like being away from her for too long. 

Their relationship hadn’t changed too much over the past few years. They were still madly in love with one another. Some days they were more clingy than others. They still made time to go on dates and have nights all to themselves. It kept their relationship healthy. Fights of course weren’t completely preventable and they still occurred every so often but not nearly to the extent as they once did.

Diane had been right, so far this chapter was a remarkable one. There was definitely not chapter of their relationship that could be pinned down as the best of all but if she had to rank, this one would be high up there. It was unbelievable how genuinely happy she was.

At one point in her life, Diane believed she would never find true happiness. It always seemed that life would never go the way she wanted. That she would never be in the career she craved to be in or have even a fraction of the life she has always dreamt of as a young girl. There were times when she fully believed that she was never going to find her so-called “happy ending”.

That all changed when she and Sam were wedded. Even before their marriage she still believed a lot of those things. For the longest time in the back of her mind, Diane believed that someway somehow every good thing she had would fall apart. 

Quite possibly the lowest point in her life was her and Sam’s very first break up. Never had she experienced heartbreak like that. Nor had she ever experience depression like that. Even just thinking about those days sent a striking pain through her chest. 

However, as they grew together and separately she allowed herself to have some hope. It seemed like maybe that her life was in fact going to have some pure joy in it even if it was just from her relationship. His love was all she really needed anyway.

Life shifted after their marriage though. Once they returned from their surprisingly fantastic honeymoon in Walt Disney World of all places, everything started to change. Diane stopped being a waitress and for a few years helped Sam run the bar. At the same time she wrote and eventually found her current position at Boston University. It was around the same timethat Diane found out she was pregnant with Elizabeth.

All of it was new and stressful for both of them. Despite that, somewhere along the way Diane finally found herself feeling happy. In the back of her head those dark thoughts still lingered but were not as present as they once were.

That all came crashing down when they got separated. This was a very low point in her life. One that sent those thoughts barreling at high speed from the back of her mind to the very front. They were very close to a divorce that it felt like she wasn’t going to find that genuine happiness she always strived for. 

It wasn’t as if her job and her children couldn’t provide her happiness but with the aching hole in her heart that he had left, it seemed impossible. It remained like that until they came back into each other’s lives as life partners again. It took a whole year for them to build their relationship back together. It wasn’t until he moved in that she allowed herself to feel that maybe she’d have something close to a fairytale happy ending.

Three years later and now Diane was absolutely positive that she had found what she had been wanting for essentially her entire life. It wasn’t easy in the slightest. At some points, she felt that giving up on ever getting to this point was her best option. 

She was relieved that she hadn’t given up. With each day that passed, Diane felt pure joy. Those cruel thoughts still had a place in her mind but for now, they were dormant. She planned to keep them that way for a long time. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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The next few hours come and go just about as quickly as Diane hoped they would. For the past at least hour and a half, she had stuck her nose in a book and kept it that way. Now it would only be minutes until Sam walked through the front door. 

The book was still in her hands and her eyes were scanning the pages before her but she wasn’t focusing as much as she had been. Her mind was continuously going back to Sam and how excited she was to see him. After a long week of only seeing each other late at night, during lunch, and having a few hour long phone calls here and there, she was over the moon about finally having some time by themselves. 

The front door of their home opens only minutes later and in walks Sam. Diane places down her book and turns to the foyer the second she hears the door open. “Hi my love” she greets with a bright shining smile.

He smiles in return, “hi sweetheart.”

“Did you have a good day?” she questions as she watches him slide out of his Red Sox jacket. 

Sam strides over to the couch, “it just got a whole lot better” he replies. He then leans down and kisses her slow for a moment. 

Seconds later he pulls away with a smile and walks over toward the record player that was sitting in the corner of the living room. 

“What are you doing?” Diane questions and furrows her brows as she shifts around to try to get a look at what he was up to. 

Music suddenly fills the room and Sam takes a step back, turning toward his wife again with another smile.

_Wise men say only fools rush in_. 

He returns to the couch and sticks out a hand, “may I have this dance?”

Her cheeks instantly turn red, could he be any sweeter? Diane smiles, “you may” she replies, taking Sam’s hand and letting him guide her off the couch. 

_But I can’t help falling in love with you_. 

Sam pulls Diane in close, pressing another kiss to her lips before they begin to slowly dance by the couch. 

She wasn’t sure where this had come from nor had she been expecting it at all, but she wasn’t complaining. It made her heart overflow even more with love for the man standing before her.

If he was honest, he hadn’t planned it for long. On the way home the song had come on the radio station he had playing. Listening to the song and relating it to him and Diane only increased his love more. If that was at all possible. What better way to show that to her than with a little dance? 

_Darling so it goes _

_Some things are meant to be_.

As the song progresses, Diane moves closer to him and changes their dance position. She brings her head down to rest on his shoulder and brings her arms around his upper torso. His arms meanwhile came around her waist. They were basically hugging while still slowly dancing. 

Her eyes fall closed as they continue on. It was unbelievable how far they had come. Their marriage hadn’t been easy so far and would continue to be a series of highs and lows. If there was one thing she was sure of though, their love for one another would always win. It persisted many times throughout their most difficult moments. They had a bond that went deeper than others, one that was unbreakable. 

_For I can’t help falling in love with you_ . 

As the song comes to an end, Diane pulls back slightly to look up at Sam. Her hand comes up and cups his cheek, giving him a soft smile. Heonly smiles in return, lightly grazing his hand up and down her back. Both knew they didn’t have to say what they were feeling out loud. 

Diane then leans in and closes the distance between them one final time with a warm, deep kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone, that’s the final chapter of this fic. I really hope you all enjoyed the ending. I decided that I wanted it to in a way mirror the final scene in “I Do, Adieu” except in a much happier way. That felt like a nearly perfect way to end their story. 
> 
> Also, I want to thank each and every one of you who has taken the time to read my story. It means more to me than you’ll ever know. If you’ve left me a kudos as well, thank you so much. It really motivates me to know people have enjoyed this story. I hope you all enjoyed this and for now I will go back to one shots but hopefully in the future I will write more full on fics. Thank you again and I hope you all have a wonderful day/night ❤️


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